Gaian Reapers
by ElementalL'Cie
Summary: Sequel to Ice Dragon and Chaos. A year since Omega's Fall. A year for darkness to grow again. This time, that darkness is targeting the Soul Reapers. Toshiro Hitsugaya must ally himself with the heroes from Gaia once more to protect his world as well as Gaia as The Nightmare rises in one more attempt to destroy the world. But The Nightmare has a particulary evil ally in mind...
1. Prologue: Darkness Rises

**Whoo! Sequel! I forget when i posted the epilogue for Ice Dragon and Chaos...meh, whatever. Here's the prologue to the sequel, Gaian Reapers! MY title makes it pretty obvious what's gonna happen...but how and who is the mysterious part *evil laugh* I've been working hard on this one. After reading the recent chapters of Bleach, i realized my idea of Hyorinmaru as a Weapon kinda clashes with the canon...soooo, i'm gonna pretend i never read it and stick with what I put to keep it consistant. Ha!**

**By the way, i'm thinking of putting pairings in, but i'm going with as canon as possible pairings. I don't like sticking random characters together for reasons that don't make any sense. In case you're wondering what those pairings are, i'll list them here(if you don't wanna know, read past): ToshiroXKarin(I know they don't meet in the manga but they do in the anime, twice, and the first time when she got hurt he looked VERY concerned, so i'm sticking with it), IchigoXRukia, CloudXTifa. Those are the only ones i can think of right now. If you have any others post them and i'll take them into consideration. Again, i need good reasons for them to be a pairing, not just cuz 'they'd be cute together'.**

**Hope this one is as good as the first since there's no game or movie to follow off of and make slight changes to, it's all my imagination at work here. Enjoy!**

**...I need an icon picture for this story...and its prequel...Any ideas? (I drew a picture for the first one but I don't have a scanner)**

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It had been waiting for this chance, this one moment with which to appear. Finally it could arise from the darkness once more and take revenge on those who had done wrong to them. The minute that swirl of foreign power left, it knew it could reopen the gate to the spirit being's world and become a god worthy of its idol. It knew such a journey would take time to accomplish, as travelling through the planet's life energy and then the harsh pressure of the dead would tax his spirit. But it would not give up, not until it had the power it wanted.

For months it waited to take its chance, ever so patiently hiding in the shadows until its opportunity presented itself and he took it gladly.

The lust for blood this dark being felt echoed through the emerald streams under the crust of the planet, warning another being to its dark intent. The figure became frantic at the possibly catastrophic threat and immediately turned to their outside aid to call for assistance. An emerald tendril of light spun in the figure's hands into the shape of an aqua butterfly, black lining the outer rims to give it a physical manifestation.

Leaving their message with the ethereal insect, the figure sent it off towards the allies before mentioned and hoped for the best.

The shadow made it through first, but caused no havoc in its new terrain, moving immediately to its familiar domain of darkness to gather its strength. As it did so, the aqua butterfly flittered past, unnoticed, and rode the wind to its chosen destination. The insect's target was resting as of that moment, unaware that their power, and that of their comrades, would soon be needed in vast volumes. Both the world they inhabited, and that of their allies, would soon be in grave danger.

The chime of bells from the aqua butterfly caused a white haired boy to look up, teal eyes filling with curiosity at the strange colored insect. He held his hand out for the butterfly to land on…and the chain of events leading to war was started.


	2. 1) One Year After

**Okay, finished it. Waited to post the prologue until i was almost done with this one, that way i can have an actual chapter up to see how people like it. By the way, my questions from the prlogue still stand, i love hearing others' ideas to help me along. So, yeah, here's the first chapter. Since this is mainly my imagination, it's most likely going to be longer than Ice Dragon and Chaos. I have a tendency to drag things out into really long stories sometimes...i'll try not to. Last thing, i'll start posting these comments at the bottom so you can get right to the story! Enjoy!**

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It had been a long day.

Standing in the doorway to his office, Squad Ten Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya glared fiercely down at the four inhabitants that currently occupied it. His teal eyes were alight with cold fury and the temperature was quickly reaching freezing.

"A-ah, Captain. You see…" Renji Abarai tried to give an explanation but a quick glare silenced him. The red-head backed off into the corner.

But the Squad Six Lieutenant was not to blame; Toshiro understood that he'd simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

No, it was the OTHER three he was furious with. Two of them were men, both passed out drunk on his office floor and half-naked. The other was his Lieutenant, face down on the floor and seemingly passed out as well.

"MATSUMOTO!" He shouted at the woman angrily.

The strawberry-blonde shot up in surprise, blue-gray eyes unfocused.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!?"

"I was taking a break Captain!" She replied cheerily, attempting to stand but only falling on her butt into the couch. "Kira and Hisagi came too!"

"I noticed." The small Captain growled. "And why are they here when you still have tons of paperwork to finish?"

"I don't have that much, it's almost all done." Rangiku complained.

She pointed to, or rather gestured in the general direction of, the small pile of finished paperwork and separate small pile of undone. Instead of seeming impressed and calming down, Toshiro stomped over to his desk.

"Mind explaining why there's an enormous stack hidden under my desk? In the spot you USUALLY hide sake?" He growled at her, pushing the said stack out for all to see.

Rangiku froze in her position, which was a strained smile with her finger still pointing towards her desk. Realizing she wasn't getting out of this one she promptly began to beg.

"Abarai, take Kira and Hisagi and get out." Toshiro snapped to the only other sober person in the room. "This is going to be ugly."

Renji sighed and did as he was told, dragging the two completely passed out Lieutenants behind him as he quickly left the area. The Squad Six Lieutenant had been attempting to find Hisagi and Kira to see what he'd missed during the Lieutenants meeting-he himself had been sick-only to find them with Rangiku and completely stoned.

As for Toshiro, he gave no mercy to his own Lieutenant and put her on office arrest. For good measure he took her sake. She wasn't happy, but he told her the minute all her paperwork was finished, and correct, she could have it back. She then complained that it was hard to do paperwork when the room was an arctic wasteland. Sighing, Toshiro defrosted his office and set her right to work, moving to his desk to work on his own.

Normally he was used to this, so while it always frustrated him he'd never gotten to the point of freezing the office before over it. Other times, yes, but not for something she did on almost a daily basis anyway. Rangiku seemed to have picked up on that and had started quickly on her work once it was defrosted.

But it had been a long day and his nerves were frayed. The very Lieutenant he'd sentenced to office arrest had also caused him stress early in the morning, when she had decided to run off to the World of the Living for a spontaneous shopping trip with Orihime. Of course, he had to go after her and almost literally drag her back to the Soul Society.

Right after that he'd bumped into Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi, who'd been bugging him since he'd returned from the world known as Gaia to examine Hyorinmaru. Both Soul Reaper and zanpaktou outright refused. That didn't stop the sadist from trying, and today he'd been especially hard pressing to the point of nearly binding the Ice Captain with Kido and forcefully taking away the Weapon spirit. He was saved from that by the timely arrival of Retsu Unohana, who quickly ushered the scientist back to his lab.

While he was grateful for Unohana's help, the fact that Mayuri was willing to resort to violence to get Hyorinmaru was unnerving. Retsu had promised to report to the Head Captain about Mayuri's behavior.

Then he went to visit Momo, who in the months he'd been on Gaia had gone through a full recovery through careful therapy with the aforementioned healer. She was happy to see him and had finally gotten over her obsession with Aizen, though she would still occasionally call him Captain…that always rubbed Toshiro the wrong way.

And now he had to deal with a drunken Lieutenant and with no doubt angry Squad Three and Nine Captains. The Visored Captains of those Squads weren't as apathetic to their Lieutenants' actions as their formers, but they were well liked. Even with their Hollow powers.

Sighing heavily, Toshiro pushed his thoughts of the day aside and returned to his work.

Ever since the Omega Incident his paperwork had gotten a little more numerous. He now had reports from both the Jenova War Heroes and Shin-Ra to keep him updated on any important events. There was one a month or two back that had concerned him enough to send three of his seated officers to assist; a Mako Reactor had exploded in the town of Nibelheim in the mountains and had caused havoc in the town. People were injured and the amount of Lifestream in the area was toxic to the humans. Aerith protected the Soul Reapers from it while they moved people out of town.

Those three officers were still there as the Mako and Lifestream levels continued to rise and fall unpredictably. This was all due to Omega's destruction, as the Lifestream it had been carrying to leave the planet had been suddenly thrust back into Gaia, causing it to become unstable.

As he worked his way slowly through the pile he read through a report from President Rufus Shin-Ra himself explaining that the levels were beginning to stabilize and he appreciated the help. His officers would be able to return soon enough.

Fortunately, for Toshiro at least, the rest of his day continued at this normal pace. He'd almost completed his pile and leaned back for a small break, rolling his wrist to get some of the tension out of it. Glancing over at his Lieutenant's desk, he wasn't surprised to see her asleep. At least she'd managed to do a fifth of the pile he'd fished from under his desk. It was a start.

It was then the chime sounded in his office and he turned to the window, expecting a Hell Butterfly with some kind of urgent report to make his day terrible again.

Instead he saw the ethereal butterfly with glowing aqua wings and a black smoke lining to give it a physical sort of form. Emerald energy trailed behind it as it fluttered its way towards him. Toshiro held his hand out for the strange bug that was obviously meant for him and it landed with a touch lighter than air. Even the Hell Butterflies weren't so…ghostlike.

"_Captain Hitsugaya, it's Aerith. I thought a butterfly might best fit as a messenger for you, like the Hell Butterflies. I have a warning for you and the Soul Society._" Toshiro frowned as Aerith's voice continued to echo in his mind. "_I'm worried that the Nightmare Sephiroth has found the strength to regenerate again and has found a way to travel to your world. I don't know what it is he'll do or how he managed it, but I'm worried it may become just as bad as the event two years ago with the Remnants. I ask you watch out for him._"

'_Sephiroth, in the Soul Society?_' Toshiro mused to himself as the butterfly evaporated into green light and died in the Spiritual Pressure of his world. It seemed the black lining was there not for a physical form but to make sure the butterfly made it to him without dying in the foreign world. '_She's right, that could spell trouble._'

After waking Rangiku and letting her know he was leaving, and that she should finish her work, Toshiro sped off to the Head Captain. This was now a matter for them all to discuss, as the Soul Society was possibly at risk. He didn't know what powers Sephiroth had, nor if they would work in a world of the dead, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

The Squad One Lieutenant happened to be leaving just as Hitsugaya appeared before him with Flash Step.

"Captain Hitsugaya, what brings you here?" He questioned the small Captain, straightening his white robe as it had shifted in the wind Toshiro had created.

"I need to speak with Head Captain Yamamoto." Toshiro replied quickly.

The silver haired, amber eyed man nodded and opened the door for Toshiro to pass through. He could tell by the seriousness of Hitsugaya's expression that the information was important.

Moving quickly through the building and into the old man's office, Toshiro was glad to see the Head Captain still there. He was standing at his balcony looking out at the setting sun with a cup of tea in his hand. At the sound of the doors opening, the old man turned, saw Toshiro, and raised an eyebrow in question.

"Sir, we have a problem."


	3. 2) Remnants of Darkness

Though assured her Captain friend would take the appropriate precautions to protect the Soul Society, there was the possibility of Sephiroth returning with some new kind of power. That, and the Soul Reapers knew almost nothing of Sephiroth except for what Hitsugaya reported, and information alone wasn't enough to fight him. They needed someone with experience fighting him.

So Aerith Gainsborough took a side mission of her own. Without a Soul Reaper anywhere close to the warrior needed, Cloud Strife, she had no way to speak to him. The three Squad Ten officers were spread out over the continents, alert for the slightest shift in Lifestream so they could protect the humans from its more harmful effects. She needed someone else.

Only problem was, the only person available…wasn't Cloud's best friend. In fact, it was one of his worst enemies.

In a white landscape, standing in a never ending field of flowers, Aerith faced someone who was once the terror of Cloud and his friends but was now far more docile. The young man was thin, dressed all in black with shoulder length silver hair and bright, cat-like emerald eyes. Kadaj himself.

"You're willing to do this for me?" Aerith asked him, hands folded over in front of her chest as though in prayer.

He nodded.

"In return for saving me." He replied aloud. "But…I'm sure he'll try to kill me."

"I have an idea for that bit." Aerith smiled. "You know about the Soul Reapers, right?"

"Yes. I saw what that one did, how he stopped Omega. The Ice Captain they called him."

"Toshiro Hitsugaya, yes. He has several officers stationed here, but they're far away at the moment. That's why I need you. That and you know Sephiroth better than anyone, even Cloud."

Kadaj grimaced but agreed. Being used by Sephiroth and left for dead was definitely NOT the highlight of his life. The Ancient smiled apologetically and continued.

"I've warned him about Sephiroth's revival, I'm sure he'll think of coming here for Cloud's aid. For now, we'll have to rely on his officers. They can see me, but the living can't."

"So you're going to ask them to help me with Cloud?" Kadaj asked.

"Yes. I've had Zack go to the nearest officer to try and bring one here. They can get around fast, but you might be on your own for a while."

"I'll live…maybe." Though a little hesitant, Kadaj was willing for this second chance. He'd learned his lesson about following Jenova; death. He didn't like that. Aerith was a lot better. Even when she called out for him at his time of death he knew it wasn't Jenova, but he knew she wanted to help and had followed her gladly.

"Alright. The easiest place to revive you is at my church, and Cloud is on his way there. Try to stall him so a Soul Reaper can make it there."

Nodding to show he understood, Kadaj let the tendrils of Lifestream curl up around him and send him on his way. His limbs became numb as life was pushed back into him and his spirit given a body. Darkness took his vision only to give it back, this time with a different view. Around him was the spacious but ruined church, a giant hole in the roof and a pool of water just behind him from when he had blasted a hole in the flower field that once grew there and allowed the water of the Lifestream to rise.

The former Remnant looked around at the place he once despised due to the very person who was now helping him. It made him laugh slightly at the irony.

The sound of an engine was heard and Kadaj instinctively tensed, prepared for a fight. Of course, he had no weapon; Aerith had made sure of that. No powers either, only inhuman strength and reflexes, just like any normal member of SOLDIER, and not a high class one either. Cloud would easily be able to kill him. That made him nervous.

The motorcycle belonging to the destroyer of Sephiroth, his killer, grew closer and closer, raising his stress levels with every second. He surely hoped that Soul Reaper would get here faster.

The engine cut off and he heard footsteps. Moment of truth now. He was sure the swordsman was armed somewhat, if not with the entire sword. Surely Aerith could have given him something for self-defense. Then again, it probably would have been seen as threatening. He was starting to hate this.

The doors opened and aqua eyes locked onto emerald. There was a moment of silence between them as Cloud registered who he was looking at.

"…You." Sure enough, Cloud was armed, and he took his chance to grip the hilt of his sword.

"Wait! I'm not here to fight!" Kadaj took a step back, nearly slipping into the pool of water had he not been quick enough to catch himself. "Aerith sent me."

"What?" Cloud growled, sword held in a battle ready position and stalking towards the trapped Remnant.

"I'm telling the truth." Kadaj kept his arms up in a gesture of surrender, hoping it was enough to back the blonde off. "There's a Soul Reaper on their way, they'll explain."

"How do you know about the Soul Reapers?"

"Aerith told me."

Cloud narrowed his eyes at the silver haired man, unwilling to believe Aerith would revive a Remnant, one that had been so bent on killing them all. An image of the past flashed to the front of his thoughts, the memory of when Kadaj lay dying in his arms. He had reached out for someone and then vanished into the Lifestream. Had it been Aerith then?

"Oh, good. You're not fighting." A voice, obviously tired, snatched the attention of both swordsmen.

A young looking woman with short dirty blonde hair and dark hazel eyes leaned on the door frame to get her breath back, garbed in the Soul Reaper uniform. When they looked at her curiously, she stood straight and bowed.

"Ninth Seat of the Tenth Squad, Natsuko Wakaba." She introduced. "One of the spirits of the Lifestream came with a message from Aerith to aid the Remnant Kadaj."

"So Aerith did send him?" Cloud lowered his guard somewhat, looking between the Soul Reaper and a very relieved looking Remnant.

"Yes, she did." Natsuko quickly walked past him to stand by Kadaj, but was looking across the water at something. "Ah, I get it."

"Is Aerith here?" Cloud's focus had quickly shifted from Kadaj, not that the latter was complaining.

"That's right, I'll be the medium." Natsuko smiled and stood tall, wiping the sweat from her brow. She wasn't used to Flash Stepping so much. "Aerith has urgent news for the Jenova War Heroes, and part of her plan includes the Remnant Kadaj."

"Just Kadaj is fine, you know." Said Remnant huffed.

Natsuko nodded to him.

"The urgent news is that…" She took a moment to listen to the Ancient speak, eyes widening in horror before turning back to Cloud. "Sephiroth has revived, and he's moved into the Soul Society."

"What?!" The blonde was startled by this as both Soul Reaper and Remnant nodded.

"Aerith sent me to help you. Having been Sephiroth's host once, I know him best of all." Kadaj added on. "I know you don't trust me, but…I might just be your only hope."

"I've fought him three times now and managed to win, I'm pretty sure I can do it again." Cloud argued.

"The Lifeforce you Gaians possess doesn't work in Soul Society." Natsuko warned. "We've tried. Captain Kurotsuchi has researched many ways to try and have it work without the Lifestream, but nothing is working. But if Sephiroth figures out how to gain the powers of a Soul Reaper, or even a Hollow, he could become more dangerous than you've ever known him to be."

"So if I were to go to Soul Society…"Cloud was beginning to understand.

"Your superhuman abilities would hinder rather than harm, as the Spirit Energy in the Soul Society would suppress the Mako in your body."

"In short, we're useless the minute we get to their world." Kadaj sighed.

"I'll let my Captain know, I'm sure he can think of something." Natsuko held her hands together before opening them and holding a black butterfly in them. "Aerith let him know about Sephiroth, but he needs to know about this too."

"What do we do in the meantime?" Cloud asked, watching the butterfly fly away and vanish in a flash of light to the Soul Society. The bugs were the only creatures that could move freely back and forth between the worlds.

"I guess…we try to get everyone used to Kadaj." Natsuko suggested cautiously.

"Yeah, that'll kill a lot of time." Kadaj sighed. Cloud silently agreed, glaring at the young man before replacing the sword at his back and stomping back outside.

"I'll go on ahead to Miss Lockhart's place." Natsuko said to Kadaj. "That way they'll be prepared and won't attack you."

"That's the hope anyways."

Sighing, the Ninth Seat took off with Flash Step, leaving Kadaj to find his way out of the ruins to Edge on foot, as Cloud had already driven off.

As for the message sent by Hell Butterfly, it got to Toshiro just before he entered the Squad One barrack with his Lieutenant in tow for the meeting. He frowned at the thought of a Remnant roaming free, but if Aerith herself had sent him, then he had to trust her. And if what his Ninth Seat said was true, the Remnant had a third the power he used to, so while normal humans would still be threatened, the Jenova war Heroes could easily dispatch him.

Filing away the report for reference in the meeting, Toshiro led Rangiku inside to where the others waited. They had a lot to discuss.

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**Second Chapter! So we see the Gaians side of things and the Remnant of Sephiroth, Kadaj has returned! Bet ya'll didn't expect that! Time for the meeting to decide how to handle things.**


	4. 3) Gaia to Earth

The thirteen Captains and Lieutenants stood in their lines, waiting for the purpose of their meeting. It had been some time since they had all been called upon, the last time had been a year ago to discuss who would be the first to go to Gaia.

"A threat in Soul Society has just been reported by Captain Hitsugaya." A few eyes turned to look at the white haired Captain. "The Nightmare Sephiroth, a man who attempted to destroy Gaia, has found his way here."

"The alarms should have gone off, then." Soi Fon, the onyx haired assassin commented.

"The portal between Gaia and Soul Society is a different make then the Senkaimon." Mayuri, the face-painted scientist, replied with scorn. "We never anticipated Sephiroth reviving himself and never saw any reason for someone from Gaia to come here, so there is nothing attached to watch for Ryoka passing through."

"And now Sephiroth has somehow managed to get through a portal and into the Soul Society. And since he is from Gaia and uses Lifeforce, the barrier around the Court of Pure Souls does not affect him." Toshiro added. "Aerith noticed it immediately and sent a warning ahead."

"We best prepare then." Squad Thirteen Captain, Jushiro Ukitake, said gravely. "From the reports about him, that man is very good at manipulation. And not just the mind but the body as well."

"Only to those with Jenova Cells in them." Toshiro corrected. "I'm pretty sure none of us have those."

"There is still a possibility he could attempt to create a Hollow army." The Head Captain cut in. "We all agreed that Sephiroth was very similar to Aizen in more ways than one, so we can assume he'll try to do that. We must find him before he manages it."

"There is something else, Head Captain." Toshiro stepped out of line. "A few minutes ago, my Ninth Seat reported that Aerith had revived the Remnant Kadaj to assist the Jenova War Heroes in finding Sephiroth's weaknesses. She also shared a concern that Sephiroth might try to find a way to gain Soul Reaper or Hollow powers, perhaps even both."

"Kadaj, you say?" Yamamoto mused. "If she was the one to revive him, then perhaps she changed him in some way. As for her concern, it is a very real possibility. We best be on the lookout for any foreign rises in Spiritual Pressure of any kind and investigate immediately."

Multiple nods told him they would all be watching.

"If Aerith sees fit to bring the Remnant Kadaj back to life, perhaps she wishes for the Jenova War Heroes to help us fight the Nightmare." Squad Six Captain, Byakuya Kuchiki, offered calmly.

"A wish I agree with." Yamamoto nodded to the noble. "The Central 46 has already made wartime exemptions when I sent word of Sephiroth's arrival. Remain armed and prepared to fight at any time. Barrier or no, the walls will be put around the Court of Pure Souls to attempt to keep him out for as long as possible. Captain Hitsugaya, either you or a member of your squad are to head to Gaia and bring the Jenova War Heroes here to assist with preparations."

Toshiro turned and looked back at his Lieutenant and she nodded at the silent order. She hadn't been working anyway, so at least this way she could do something useful.

"That will be all." Yamamoto stood and left to return to his work, as did many of the others.

"No distractions, Matsumoto." Toshiro warned as they stepped outside. "Find Vincent Valentine and Cloud Strife, they know Sephiroth best. The others can come if they want."

"What do I do about Kadaj?" Rangiku asked.

"Hm…bring him too. As his Remnant, Kadaj will be our best asset in learning Sephiroth's abilities and weaknesses."

"Understood."

"It's best you leave as quickly as possible and bring them here. The sooner you leave the better prepared we are. Make sure Wakaba and the others are doing well or if they need to switch with someone."

Nodding, Rangiku Flash Stepped away to where the portal between the worlds was set up; the courtyard in front of their Squad Barracks, since Gaia was under their jurisdiction. How Sephiroth got through there and out of the Court of Pure Souls without being noticed was beyond them, unless he changed the location of the portal or made his own. Both of the latter were possibilities and concerned the Soul Reapers greatly.

The strawberry blonde made sure to grab her zanpaktou, Haineko, before going back into the courtyard where two Soul Reapers were setting it up. A Hell Butterfly had been sent ahead to Natsuko, the team leader of the three away on Gaia, to let her know the Lieutenant was coming.

Between two stone pillars, an anti-Spirit Energy barrier crackled to life, creating an aqua blue glow between them. With the pressuring energy pushed back, the twisting emerald tendrils of Lifestream were able to rise once more and complete the circuit between its home world and the world of spirits. The light shifted and showed an image of the back alley behind Seventh Heaven, an area made so the Soul Reapers could be in an ally territory owned by the Jenova War Hero Tifa Lockhart. With quick access to one of the heroes, urgent matters, like the one they now faced, could be quickly handled.

The portal complete, Rangiku told the Soul Reaper to keep it open until she returned and leaped through.

At her destination, inside the bar, several people sat in silence. Kadaj sat sheepishly in a corner booth away from the others, knowing his presence was unwelcomed. Tifa had her head in her hands, trying to calm down. Cloud stood with her for support. Marlene and Denzel were upstairs with Cait Sith, Reeve himself talking to Natsuko. The final member of their group was young Shelke, the Ex-Tsviet, looking at Kadaj with a thoughtful expression.

"By the way, Lieutenant Matsumoto is on her way." Natsuko turned from the Commissioner to address the others.

"Rangiku?" Tifa picked her head up.

"Yes. Captain Hitsugaya told her to come and bring Mr. Strife, Mr. Valentine and some of the others to Soul Society." The Ninth Seat turned to Kadaj. "You're to come as well."

"Me?" Kadaj seemed surprised by this.

"Yes. She'll be here shortly."

"Guess we need to call in the others." Cloud left Tifa's side, albeit reluctantly, and went outside to make the calls.

Silence returned and the sole Soul Reaper felt rather awkward. She tried to occupy herself with fixing her uniform, but that quickly become mundane.

Instead, she sighed and decided to go wait outside for her superior. At least she'd be out of the tense situation. Then again, leaving the heroes alone with their arch enemy probably wasn't a good idea. She was at odds with what to do and so began to pace, bringing attention to her.

The sound of rushing air was heard out back and attention shifted to the door. Silence for a few seconds…

The door slammed open, startling all in the room, even Shelke.

"I'm here!" Rangiku announced proudly. "I'm sure you know why I'm here."

"Yes, Rangiku, we know." Tifa replied, smiling at the Lieutenant's showy entrance.

"Well then, get everyone who wants to go and let's get moving! The Captain will have my head if I'm not back quick."

"No offense, Lieutenant Matsumoto, but when did that bother you?" Natsuko sighed, knowing full well the woman could care less what Toshiro thought most of the time. "And we have to wait for them to get here."

"Phooey, I was hoping to get here and back quick." Rangiku pouted and plopped into a seat next to Shelke, turning to the startled girl. "So how have you and your sister been?"

"Oh, Shalua and I have been able to catch up on a lot of things." Shelke replied with a small smile. "It finally feels like being in a family."

"Excellent!" Embracing her tightly, Rangiku acquainted Shelke with the same breathless situation that Toshiro sometimes found himself in when the woman was excited and hugged him, only this time Rangiku let go quick. "But I think you should work on your sense of style."

Shelke, confused, observed her pink sweater and maroon skirt and white shoes, wondering what was wrong with it. The Lieutenant next to her quickly began explaining various fashion decisions while the others either looked at her incredulously or laughed quietly.

"Is she always like that?" Kadaj questioned the Soul Reaper next to him.

"Sadly." Natsuko nodded. "It drives Captain Hitsugaya crazy. It's common to hear him yelling at her since she won't do her work. He ends up doing it while she recovers from hangovers just so it gets done."

"Lovely."

Managing to catch his last word, Rangiku turned to look at Kadaj in the corner. She took in his features and several waited with baited breaths. Squad Ten were guardians of Gaia too, and they knew all about what Kadaj had done. The Remnant shrunk under her gaze, especially when she stood and walked closer to him, examining him closer. There was an intense moment of silence.

He gaped when the Lieutenant smiled widely and hugged him.

"You really do look like my Captain! How cute!" Not even noticing the many shocked expressions, and a partially suffocating Kadaj, Rangiku continued on. "I should call you two brothers or something, I wonder if he'd let me."

"L-Lieutenant, you're suffocating him." Natsuko warned.

"Hm? Oh, whoops! Sorry Kadaj."

The Remnant took a moment to get his breath back and recover from the suddenness with which Rangiku had 'attacked' him. Tifa had a small thought that she was glad Cloud hadn't been here, as he'd probably go brain dead for a good amount of time. His worst enemy, cute?

Rangiku left Kadaj alone, to his relief, and chatted with Tifa about business instead. The barkeeper politely refused the Soul Reaper any alcohol since Toshiro would no doubt get angry.

Stepping back inside, Cloud was surprised to see the atmosphere of the room being a little happier. Noticing Rangiku, he quickly understood and shook his head.

"Vincent is on his way, and Cid is coming with Yuffie and Red. They want to come too."

"The more the merrier." Rangiku grinned. "How long?"

"Vincent was close by but he's on foot, so about ten minutes for him. Cid should be here by airship in about the same time."

"Alright then." Rangiku stood and latched onto Shelke. "How about we go shopping while we wait?"

"I'm going to the Soul Society as well." Shelke argued.

"We still have ten minutes before we go, that's enough time to snoop around." Rangiku wasn't taking no for an answer and was quickly shoving the young ex-Tsviet out the door.

Soon they were gone and there were several amused sighs let out around the room. Kadaj was glad they were gone and he didn't think he'd ever feel safe around Rangiku again.

Time passed in general silence among the remaining occupants of the bar. Kadaj waited outside so that Tifa could talk to the kids without them feeling uncomfortable in his presence. Denzel still refused to speak and he'd gone as white as a ghost when he'd been told Kadaj was coming. The barkeeper told them that she was going to leave for a little while and that Reeve and Barrett would take care of them, as well as the Soul Reapers.

Yuffie arrived, a large red beast in tow which Natsuko learned was Red XIII. The black-maned, wolf-like creature greeted the Soul Reaper kindly and surprised her with the ability to speak. He swished his fire tipped tail behind him like a lion. Cid came in last after making sure his airship was secured down. Not long after, Vincent arrived, greeting those inside with a silent nod as per usual. They each knew about Kadaj, who was still hiding out back, but mentioned nothing of it.

They ended up having to call Shelke to drag Rangiku back, which the young girl quickly did. She was still getting used to normal daily activities, but she was beginning to dislike shopping. At least with Rangiku anyway.

Setting aside her silly self, Rangiku cleared her throat, bringing Kadaj back in to make sure he heard too.

"The Soul Society is going to put a lot of pressure on you both physically and mentally. The Spirit Energy we're used to and live off of will reject your power, and unlike your friend Aerith, we can't control its flow around you."

"We know." Cloud nodded.

"Good! Follow me then!" Rangiku led the eight Gaians out back and through the portal for their first trip to the World of Soul Reapers.

* * *

**So, Captain and Lieutenant meeting along with Rangiku grabbing the Gaians. Rangiku is going to be making comments here and there baout the similarities between Kadaj and Shiro but you'll see that Shiro will pointedly ignore them ^^ Just a humor thing. Enjoy!**


	5. 4) Learning the Dead

Toshiro sensed his Lieutenant return and set down his pen, standing from his desk to greet his new guests. He had been trying to get as much paperwork done as possible, but had only managed a quarter of the stack in the twenty minutes Rangiku had been gone. He placed Hyorinmaru on his back as he passed his leaning place against the wall. Hyorinmaru rumbled happily; he still spoke a lot to Toshiro, much to the others surprise. During battle it was common for zanpaktou to offer hints or comfort, but they didn't participate in idle chat. Perhaps it was due to Hyorinmaru being a Weapon.

Once outside he noticed the eight people with his Lieutenant, latching onto one of them quickly. The silver haired man, who he guessed was Kadaj, stared back with less intensity but just as defiant. He had to push the thought of how similar they were from his mind before returning his gaze to the others.

"Welcome to the Soul Society." He greeted them with a small nod. "It looks like the Spirit Energy of this world is already affecting you."

They did seem rather strained at the moment, especially the Remnant and Cloud. Vincent seemed the only one least affected and Toshiro put it down to him playing host to a Weapon. Even if Chaos had returned to Gaia, the effects of his powers seemed to have remained.

"I'll lead you to the Head Captain's office; he'll want to speak with you." Teal eyes snapped over to Rangiku. "You need to get back to your paperwork."

"Aw, Captain." The blonde woman whined.

"No excuses. Back to work." They felt the temperature decrease as a warning and Rangiku solemnly walked inside. "With my luck she won't have done a thing when I get back."

The wolf creature, Red XIII, walked towards the tiny Captain.

"Is there a chance we can meet the other Captains and Lieutenants?"

"Some of them may pass us on our way to the barracks." Toshiro replied, unfazed by a talking animal. "They've surely noticed you by now."

With that he turned and led them away from his own barracks and through twisting halls towards the center of the Court of Pure Souls.

"This kind of reminds me of Wutai." Yuffie commented, speaking of her hometown.

"I did see the resemblance when I visited Wutai myself. We're Japanese, and Wutai seems to be very similar in culture." Toshiro replied.

"What's that hill in the middle?" She asked next, pointing up to the towering rock feature.

"The Sokyoku Hill. It used to be where we held executions, but ever since the Sokyoku was destroyed, it's been more of a sacred sight."

Yuffie blanched at the thought of executions, but Tifa decided to question further.

"The Sokyoku?"

"A large blade with the power of a million zanpaktous. It's only used on those who have committed severe crimes and looks similar to the summon you call Phoenix when released; only, it vaporizes instead of revives."

"Harsh." Kadaj mumbled. Toshiro raised an eyebrow at him but did not comment.

"So how was it destroyed?"

"That's a long story…" Toshiro sighed. "To be honest, I wasn't there to see it, but from what I heard, Ichigo Kurosaki, the Substitute Soul Reaper, managed to stop it with his own zanpaktou, which should have been impossible. Captains Ukitake and Kyoraku then used an item called the Shihon Shield to destroy it while Kurosaki had it distracted."

"Why would Ichigo need to stop it?" Yuffie ventured.

"A false execution was set up by Aizen to kill Rukia Kuchiki, who had an artifact called the Hogyoku imbedded in her spirit. We had no idea it was Aizen at the time, but thanks to Kurosaki, Kuchiki survived and is still alive, and Aizen is imprisoned for the next twenty thousand years."

"Whoa whoa whoa." Cid waved his hands out front. "From what you told us, Aizen was some sort of evil mastermind who attempted to destroy you."

"Yes." Toshiro replied simply, unconcerned, though his hand ventured to the jagged scar running from shoulder to hip.

"Why don't you kill him then?"

"The Hogyoku is a powerful item that transcends all natural laws. He merged his spirit with it and is now quite literally immortal. We can't kill him, but we can imprison him. He has thousands of Kido restraints placed on him both physically and mentally, he's never escaping."

"How can you be sure?" Cloud questioned.

"The Kido Corps keeps a constant watch on him. They're a group of highly skilled Kido users and can sense the slightest shift. They'll be able to adjust the restraints accordingly."

Toshiro sensed a fellow Captain and Lieutenant approaching, quickly recognizing them as the Squad Six duo. Remembering how similar Reno had been to Renji, he thought he might enjoy the Gaians reactions to the latter.

He slowed as they came to the crossroad where Byakuya Kuchiki and Renji Abarai would cross paths with them. Sure enough they came into view and both groups paused to examine the other.

"Hitsugaya." Byakuya greeted the tiny Captain with a small nod.

"Kuchiki." Toshiro replied the same way. They never called the other Captain when greeting each other, but they at least acknowledged them respectfully.

"Whoa, he looks like Reno!" Yuffie pointed to the tattoo covered red-head.

Renji tilted his head in confusion at the shout, not having been told about any specific people besides the Jenova War Heroes.

"One of the Turks is strikingly similar to you." Toshiro explained. "Minus the tattoos of course, I doubt anyone else would have so many."

"Hey! I like my tattoos, thank you!" Renji scowled while Toshiro simply raised an eyebrow. "They show my uniqueness."

"If you say so." Toshiro looked off to the side while Renji silently fumed. Yuffie giggled and drew the Lieutenant's attention to her.

"What are you laughing at, skimpy?!"

"Abarai." Byakuya sighed. Renji tensed before bowing quickly in apology to his Captain. "Are these all who wanted to come, Hitsugaya?"

"Seems so. I was on my way to the Head Captain."

"Then it's best we go our separate ways." Byakuya glided past with all the grace of the noble he was.

After glaring at Yuffie once more, Renji followed him. Toshiro realized they were heading towards the Squad Thirteen barracks, no doubt to visit Rukia. The adopted noble had gotten sick, same as Renji, from something in her food a few weeks back but had gotten a lot better since. Needless to say, the person who made the food had met an unfortunate punishment when Byakuya 'visited' them.

"Come on then, before anyone else finds us." Toshiro began walking again.

With the eight Gaians managing a fairly fast pace, they arrived to the Squad One barracks in good time, crossing the covered walkway and through the large doors. They each gazed around the spacious meeting room in wonder before eventually all resting on the aging man with only a right arm in his seat across the room.

"Glad you could make it, Gaians." Yamamoto spoke huskily. He nodded to Toshiro who bowed and took a stand next to the old man. As Gaia's protector he was to be a part of this conversation. "I assume we're all on the same page at this point?"

"We understand that Sephiroth has found his way here." Shelke replied with a bow, seeing as that seemed to be the proper way of greeting. Yuffie did as well, since she was used to such things in Wutai, with Tifa and Red not far behind. The other four boys hesitated, but to earn respect quickly bowed as well. Yamamoto seemed to smile at their awkwardness, though only Toshiro heard him chuckle.

"And that you need us to help you fight him." Cloud added on to Shelke's statement.

"Indeed. However, there is the problem of your power. Only Valentine seems to be relatively unaffected."

"That's probably due to him playing host to a Weapon." Toshiro responded and Vincent nodded.

Yamamoto seemed to think things over for a moment, leading the Gaians to grow rather nervous. Toshiro didn't shift position, accustomed to waiting on the old man.

"Perhaps we have no choice." Yamamoto spoke up, looking sternly at the eight before him.

They gained confused expressions, some of them looking between each other. Toshiro raised an eyebrow as well.

"What was done before can be done again. You shall have to gain Soul Reaper powers to fight effectively."

* * *

**Here's the next chapter where the Gains get a slight overview of the Soul Society and past events ^^ Then they meet the famous Head Captain and get told to become Soul Reapers! Enjoy!**


	6. 5) Captains Meeting

Shocked expressions crossed over each of their faces and Toshiro's as well.

"Do they have the ability to become Soul Reapers?" He asked the aging reaper. "Kurosaki was lucky since his father was a Soul Reaper and gained the power through genes, but these people are from another world. The process might even kill them."

"Your former companion and fellow Weapon host will be able to." Yamamoto said, gesturing to Vincent. The gunman seemed startled by this. "As for the others…perhaps there is a latent ability within them that can be expressed as Soul Reaper powers. The circumstances of their power may be a little different than what we're used to, but it will allow them to fight in this world."

"It could take years for them to discover the full potential of their abilities. Depending on how long it takes Sephiroth to gain powers of his own, we may not have that kind of time."

"I'm sure Urahara can find a way, as he did with Kurosaki."

The Gaians noticed Toshiro grimace at the new, to them anyway, name. They had no idea what they were speaking about, but decided to remain silent rather than interrupt. Most of them anyway.

"So do we get to be Soul Reapers or not?" Yuffie interrupted the Captains' banter.

"Hold your tongue, child." Yamamoto snapped. "It is rude to speak without being spoken to, especially when one is already in a discussion."

The Wutai princess shrunk under the gaze of the old man, realizing her error. The same things were taught in Wutai, but she never had been one for etiquette.

"However…to answer your question, this may need to be discussed with the other Captains. A meeting shall be called shortly to discuss war preparations and whether or not you are to join our ranks temporarily as Substitute Soul Reapers."

"So we'd be like Ichigo?" Tifa asked.

"In a sense." Toshiro shrugged. "As we said, it won't be exactly the same as our power."

"It's still a start." Cloud argued. "If you don't mind me asking, how soon can the Captains gather together?"

"I'm sure they'll need to set things in order among their squad before arriving, but they should all arrive within the hour." Yamamoto stood from his seat and began walking further inside to his office. "Wait here for them."

The old men left and the room seemed to cool a bit, as if the man's very presence had heated the room, and a pressure lifted off of them, however slight. They hadn't noticed until the heat left and left the chilling effects of Toshiro's energy, as slight as it was. If the heat of Yamamoto's power had completely masked Toshiro's…they had no doubt the Head Captain was extremely strong.

"At least you get to meet the other Captains now." Toshiro said to them, walking away from Yamamoto's throne to a spot closer to them and to the right of the chair. "I should warn you about some of them though."

"Like who?" Yuffie tilted her head curiously.

"Squad Twelve Captain, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, will probably threaten to experiment on you." The Ice Captain stated, watching almost all of them shiver uncomfortably. Sharp eyes caught Vincent stiffen and Toshiro remembered Hojo, the man behind the Omega Incident. He needed to make sure Vincent and Mayuri were never alone in the same room, not only for the gunman's safety but his sanity as well. "Squad Eleven Captain, Kenpachi Zaraki, will look for the strongest among you and attempt to fight. Beware, his Spiritual Pressure is monstrous."

"How monstrous? As much as Ichigo's?" Cid asked.

"Try strong enough to probably kill Omega in two or three blows." Toshiro smirked as they gaped. "I didn't ask to bring him into the war against Weiss because I was afraid he would kill everyone around him, not just Deepground, and probably would have demanded to spar with almost all of you, especially you two." He pointed to Cloud and Vincent.

"Got it…scary guy." Yuffie muttered under her breath. "A-Anyone else?"

"Squad Seven Captain, Sajin Komamura, is actually a wolf." He saw Red perk up excitedly. "More of an anthro, really, but a wolf all the same. Those are the only three I would see as the most shocking to you, the others you can meet on your own."

As he said this, a swirl of wind at the door caught their attention where they saw a petite woman with short onyx hair step in with authority in her step.

"You are the Jenova War Heroes?" She asked with a demanding tone that didn't fit her tiny frame. They nodded. "I am Captain of Squad Two and Commander of the Stealth Force, Soi Fon."

"Stealth Force? Like ninjas?" Yuffie asked excitedly.

"Assassins." Soi Fon corrected, walking to a spot closer to Yamamoto's chair but on the same side as Toshiro. "We take out rogue Soul Reapers that pose a threat to the Thirteen Court Guard Squads."

"Oh…"

Two other Soul Reapers arrived, distracting them once more. The Gaians had moved to the right of the door so the spirits could enter without having to walk around them. One of the new arrivals was the Captain they had passed not long ago, Byakuya Kuchiki. The black haired noble only glanced at them before taking a spot somewhere between Toshiro and Soi Fon. It was then the Gaians realized they were lining up.

As for the other Captain, he was blonde haired, the bangs cut at an angle over his eyes, and a strange frown.

"So there are the heroes." The new Captain spoke. "Squad Five Captain, Shinji Hirako. Good to see you're alive."

"Huh?" Tifa looked confused.

"That's not funny, Hirako." Soi Fon griped.

"Oi, we're both Captains, call me Shinji." The blonde snapped back, taking a spot on the other side of them. So it was evens on one side and odds on the other, the squads were wall organized.

Soi Fon glared at him while Toshiro sighed; there was always an argument with someone as the Captains gathered.

The next Captain took another ten minutes to arrive and the Gaians, minus Kadaj, were surprised to see a familiar face. Retsu Unohana gave them a welcoming smile, introducing herself once more for Kadaj's sake, and stood between Byakuya and Soi Fon. Next to arrive was the wolf Captain of Squad Seven. Sajin greeted them with a polite bow before standing next to Shinji just as two more Captains arrived. One was brown haired with a pink robe over his haori, the Squad Eight Captain, Shunsui Kyoraku. His partner had long white hair but a kindly face and looked rather sickly. He was the Squad Thirteen Captain, Jushiro Ukitake.

"Rose and Kensei might be a little late." Shunsui said aloud to the other Captains. "Visored business."

While the Gaians silently asked what he meant, the other Captains simply nodded in reply and didn't explain as the two older Captains took their places.

Eventually the others arrived. Mayuri and Kenpachi both had them reeling in horror, with silent evil grins and bad vibes from the former and a blood lusting gleam and intense pressure from the latter. Kenpachi's tall height and scarred face, as well as the eye patch, may also have been a factor. As Mayuri took his place next to Toshiro, Cloud noticed the Ice Captain keep a wary eye on the face painted man. A man with long, wavy blonde hair introduced himself as the Squad Three Captain, Rojuro Otoribashi, or 'Rose'. With him was a well-built man with short gray hair; Kensei Muguruma of Squad Nine.

That was all of them and the Head Captain soon returned and took his seat, the two lines of Captains standing quietly as they always did with the eight Gaians standing at the now closed door.

"I know this is such short notice after the meeting we had just this morning," Yamamoto began, noticing Shunsui chuckle slightly at the comment, "but it is time to discuss the more important parts of our defenses against Sephiroth. Out of the eight of you, who knows our enemy the best?"

The last words were directed at the Gaians. Cloud and Kadaj both stepped forward, the latter being rather unwilling to do so.

"I have fought him three times before." Cloud spoke first. "His aims are always the same, but this time he might have something different in mind since the Soul Society is open to him now."

"And you boy?" Yamamoto turned to the silver haired man. "You are Sephiroth's Remnant, are you not?"

"I am." Kadaj replied.

"Then you would best know the motives behind his actions?"

"Yes."

The Head Captain mulled over this for a moment, giving the other Captains a chance to step in. Mayuri gladly did so.

"As a Remnant you have his powers, correct?" The scientist demanded. Kadaj nodded, albeit reluctantly. "Then why don't I just examine it for myself and learn every weakness to it?"

"That would involve killing him, wouldn't it?" Toshiro glared at the Captain on his right.

"What of it?" Mayuri scoffed.

"As you know, Gaia is under my protection and that includes its people. Aerith revived him for a reason and it was not so you could cut him open. You're not to touch him."

The scientist scowled fiercely at the tiny Captain.

"They may be under your protection, but their lives are not for you to control."

"I never said that. Keeping Kadaj out of YOUR hands falls under protection."

"You little-"

"Enough!" Yamamoto shouted at the pair and the heat became stifling. They were quick to silence. "Captain Hitsugaya is correct, Kurotsuchi, Kadaj is not to be harmed."

The Remnant let out a relieved sigh at this.

"But we do need some way of learning just what kind of power Sephiroth has." Yamamoto continued. "Will you tell us that information, boy?"

"Gladly." There was no hesitation in the reply.

"Very good. Captain Soi Fon may best be suited to gather such information." He nodded to said woman who bowed, looking at the silver haired man with interest. She'd never interrogated a willing informant; at least it was an easy job. "And you, Cloud Strife, you will share with us your experiences of Sephiroth's attacks?"

Cloud nodded quickly.

"I remember Toshiro saying something about a meteor he summoned or something." Shinji commented, ignoring Toshiro's snap back of 'Captain Hitsugaya' by pretending to clear out his ears. "How the hell did he manage that?"

"An item called the Black Materia." Cloud replied. "The ultimate black magic. It brings nearby comets or even moons crashing towards the summoner. Sephiroth used as much power as he could and managed to bring an enormous comet towards us. It would have destroyed Gaia."

"Sounds fun." Kenpachi beamed.

"How did you stop it?" Jushiro spoke up.

"The Black Materia's opposite, the White Materia. Aerith managed to activate it before Sephiroth killed her and summoned Holy. It protected the planet from Meteor."

"Does he still have this materia?" Yamamoto questioned gravely.

Several Gaians shook their head.

"We took it from him after his death and destroyed it. The White Materia is lost as well, and only Aerith was able to activate it anyway as a Cetra." Vincent spoke this time.

"And after this whole Meteor Fall thing, he came back two years later as this guy?" Kensei butted in, gesturing towards Kadaj, who scowled at him.

"Him and his two brothers." Cloud replied. "They were after the remains of an alien life form known as Jenova. Once Kadaj had it, he used it to become Sephiroth."

"Was not pleasant." Kadaj mumbled.

"I defeated him and he left Kadaj for dead." Cloud continued.

"Oh that's nice." Shinji snorted. "Toshiro's comment wasn't that far off, he and Aizen are strikingly similar."

"Only Aizen was twisted from the start." Toshiro replied, trying his best not to shout at Hirako for forgetting his title. "I was told Sephiroth went insane after he learned the truth about how he became so strong. Insane enough to call Jenova his mother."

Several eyes turned to look at Kadaj. The Remnant didn't meet their gazes, refusing to acknowledge that he, too, had called Jenova his mother many a time before he was abandoned.

"He probably still does." He said, hoping to get the spotlight off of him. "He's been trying to destroy Gaia to use it as a 'vessel' and use it to travel to another world just like Jenova did. Now that there's another world connected to Gaia already, he'll probably go after both."

"Will he spread the Geostigma here?" Tifa questioned the Remnant.

"He can't, not without the Lifestream." Kadaj replied honestly. "But…he might try to find another way."

"Geostigma was a disease that invaded the body and created a black rash along the skin." Toshiro explained for his fellow Captains. "It would occasionally ooze a black substance and was told to turn one's blood black as well. It was also excruciatingly painful and had a high death rate."

"Cloud had it once." Yuffie said randomly and the swordsman growled something at her, silencing the ninja.

"Had it?" Jushiro questioned.

"There's a pool in Aerith's church back home that could heal it." Cloud answered. "Ironically, it was Kadaj who put it there."

The Remnant simply shrugged.

"I was trying to blow you up but I hit the ground and Aerith sent out the water." He said uncaringly. "But since it was getting rid of the thing that made me who I was, I had to run for it." When he saw several Captains glance at him questioningly, he sighed. "Since I'm Sephiroth's Remnant, and Sephiroth's very blood was pretty much Mako and Jenova Cells, my blood is the same. The stigma was actually a small amount of M-Jenova's cells getting into the bloodstream."

"Sephiroth can control the cells, can't he?" Sajin mused aloud, more to himself than the Gaians.

"Yeah…he can." Kadaj answered anyway, quickly realizing their problem. If Sephiroth wanted to, he could control Kadaj into his personal servant again, and possibly send Cloud reeling in pain as well, since the swordsman had long since locked out mind control.

"You'll have someone watching you at all times." Toshiro told him. "The minute you become a threat you will be restrained, but not harmed."

"I'll make sure to enforce that with my squad as well." Soi Fon added, seeing as she was to be the boy's interviewer.

"Not sure whether to thank you or not." Kadaj said to the small Captain, noticing the small smirk creeping onto his face.

"That is sufficient information for now." Yamamoto silenced the room with his voice after taking in all that was said. "I believe with this the Captains can gauge our enemy's strength to a near enough degree to be prepared." Multiple nods. "Now onto another matter."

The Head Captain told the others of his idea to turn the Gaians before them, and possibly the other Jenova War Heroes, into Soul Reapers.

"Who will agree to these terms?" The Head Captain panned his gaze over the twelve Captains.

Ten of the twelve hands raised into the air. Surprisingly, Retsu was one of the ones against it, along with Byakuya. The latter refused due to the risk of breaking more laws and having another event like the one with Ichigo and his sister Rukia, the former knew the high risk of death and was not willing to lose their allies.

"Very well." Yamamoto seemed to know this would be the turnout and moved on quickly. "It's best we help settle in our guests. We have a lot of work ahead of us."

* * *

**Okay i'm probably not gonna post the next chapter for a while I've got AP tests and Finals are fast approaching, which means loads of work to do. I'll get back to this as soon as i can, don't worry, but it might take a week or two. I may not even continue untl after school is out. So, i guess you can consider this story to be on hiatus for now until school is out of my way. Sorry for that. Enjoy!**


	7. 6) Discussing the Reaper Business

With the meeting over, the Gaians were to return to the Squad Ten barracks since they were under Toshiro's care. Kadaj went with Soi Fon instead for the 'interrogation' and a few of the Gaians thought about going back home.

"I'm not keeping you here." Toshiro replied when Cid brought up heading back. They were all sitting in Toshiro's office, said Captain working on his stack of paperwork while his Lieutenant slept as his charges rested on the chairs. "When you want to return, have Wakaba or one of the others contact me and we'll open the portal from our end."

"Thanks." The pilot headed back out of the office.

Red stood and followed. He'd already expressed his worries about becoming a Soul Reaper, seeing as he wasn't even semi-human as Komamura had been and therefore had no way of holding a blade or mastering it. Yuffie wanted to get some things before coming back and left as well. That left four of the Jenova War Heroes with Toshiro and Rangiku.

"I'm sure Rufus will want in on this somehow." Cloud sighed.

Toshiro snorted, starling them.

"The Turks are strong, but not strong enough to be Soul Reapers." He told them, pausing in his paperwork. "Reno was lucky enough to get away with just frost when we sparred a year ago. If I had actually been trying to kill him he would have died in seconds."

"He probably wasn't trying either."

"That's not the point." Toshiro pointed his pen at the swordsman. "They might be hiding some kind of strength, but they just don't have the ability to become Soul Reapers. Even Kurosaki before he got his powers could have sent them running."

"Doesn't mean they're not going to try." Tifa shrugged and the Captain rolled his eyes, returning to his work. "Hey, how has Hyorinmaru been?"

"Fine, why do you ask?"

"Just wondering. He is a Weapon, after all."

"He's also a zanpaktou; therefore he can live in either world. He prefers to stay with me though."

"Is he able to manifest himself here?" Vincent spoke up. Shelke was the only one to remain silent and had been for quite some time. She seemed to be just observing and taking in information.

Toshiro shook his head to answer Vincent's question and then glanced at Rangiku. The woman had been sleeping for some time now.

"Matsumoto!" He snapped at her and she bolted upright.

"Oh, you're back!" She said cheerily despite her drowsiness. "Wait…there's only four of you."

"The Remnant went with Soi Fon so she can get as much information about Sephiroth as possible. Highwind, Kisaragi and Red went back home." Her Captain explained.

"Ah, I see." She stood to chat with them until a glare from her Captain sat her back down with a pout. She wasn't getting away with anything while he was there.

"So how exactly are we going to get Soul Reaper powers?" Vincent looked at the white haired Captain.

"You might be able to get them the same way Kurosaki did." Toshiro replied, not looking up as he wrote quickly across the papers before him. "As for the others, Urahara might be able to find a way."

"Who's he?"

"He used to be the Squad Twelve Captain." Rangiku explained. "But Aizen set him up and he was exiled. Everything is okay now since Aizen is gone, but since Captain Kurotsuchi runs Squad Twelve now, Urahara prefers to stay in the World of the Living."

They heard Toshiro mutter something that sounded like 'thank goodness' but couldn't be sure.

"Urahara first started the Department of Research and Development that Squad Twelve now runs." Rangiku continued. "Though Captain Kurotsuchi would never admit it, Urahara can definitely one up him on inventing new things."

"Urahara created the Hogyoku." Toshiro added. "As well as other things we use commonly, such as the Gigais."

"What are those?" Tifa asked.

"I explained about how we're spirits, right?" When they nodded he continued. "In the World of the Living, only those with high enough Spiritual Pressure can see us. If we're staying for an extended period of time and therefore need to interact with the humans, we use a Gigai to give us a physical form. We can't fight in it and our Spiritual Pressure is also greatly masked, but it allows normal people to see and interact with us."

"So it's a faux body?" Cloud looked rather uncomfortable with such a thing.

"Yes. Getting in is as simple as slipping on a coat. There are several methods of removing oneself from the Gigai. The safest method is using an Artificial Soul, which pushes out the Soul Reaper in the Gigai and places a fake soul inside to avoid suspicion. Humans don't like seeing people randomly dropping dead."

"Fake…souls?" Shelke spoke up finally. "You people create fake souls?"

"Yes." Toshiro frowned, wondering why the Gaians seemed so sensitive about the topic. Sure, it could be considered creepy, but it was necessary. "It's just a temporary spirit to avoid hysteria with people in the World of the Living. Having people 'die' and return to life would cause major problems. We're not using the souls to create new life; they're just to avoid panics."

They relaxed somewhat but still seemed suspicious about the topic.

"You'll probably have to use them too, when you become Soul Reapers." Toshiro added on. "Since the first world you came to is here, you all are technically considered spirits, and you won't be seen by normal people when we go to the World of the Living. Kurotsuchi will have to make Gigais for you." He noticed them grimace. "…Or Urahara can always make them."

"Hey Captain, maybe we should let them visit the Shinou Academy for a while." Rangiku suggested. "They'll need to learn how to control their Spiritual Pressure when they get it and general Soul Reaper things."

"Our history and system set-up isn't so much important as the fighting skills and experience they need for battle." Toshiro countered. "That can be learned quite simply through various battles." He turned to the four listening to them intently. "I'm sure multiple Captains and Lieutenants would be willing to help with that, either with sparring or field training to fight Hollows. The latter is probably best."

"Hollows were those bad spirits you told us about, right?" Cloud questioned and Toshiro nodded, once more returning to his paperwork. "You didn't really tell us much about them."

"Hm…you're right." Toshiro sighed, looking at the still rather large pile of paperwork. "Perhaps you should find a Soul Reaper with more free time. Thanks to Matsumoto I'm terribly busy."

The strawberry blonde laughed nervously and began working on her own stack, which she had been avoiding by listening to the conversation.

"Any suggestions?" Tifa asked, standing first as the others followed save for Vincent.

"Avoid Kurotsuchi at all costs." Toshiro replied in warning. When they nodded eagerly, he continued. "Ukitake is willing to give information, and Kyoraku always seems to have free time. Most of the Lieutenants would be willing to help as well."

"How do we know who is a Lieutenant? The Captains are easy enough with the white robe."

"All Lieutenants wear a badge, like this." Rangiku held up the one attached to her waist tie with her Squad Symbol and number on it. "The number at the top tells you which squad they're from."

"That's right, Renji had one on his arm." Tifa turned to the other two going with her. "Guess we should let them work."

Cloud nodded and took lead, the girls following behind. Shelke paused for a moment, turning to look back at the gunman still sitting on the couch.

"Are you coming?" She asked.

"I'll join you later." He replied, not noticing the Soul Reapers behind him share a glance. What could he want?

The young girl seemed suspicious about his actions but did not question them and soon left. Toshiro spared his former companion a curious glance before returning to the pile of paperwork. As for the woman of the room, she kept using his presence as a distraction and seemed to be taking in his features. The gunman himself didn't look at either of them, keeping his gaze on the golden claw gauntlet on his left arm.

When Hitsugaya looked up and noticed that same feature, he remembered that he had once before meant to ask about it. Then again, he was busy…Rangiku would ask, he could see the question forming in her head already just by how intently she stared at it.

"What's the claw for?" Rangiku asked, proving his theory correct.

"Not all of me stayed the same after Hojo put those demons in me." Vincent answered. "Some of it became permanent…but ever since Chaos returned to the planet, it isn't as noticeable."

"So you have some kind of demon arm?"

"You could call it that."

Toshiro narrowed his eyes at the gunman in thought, taking in what he had said. Chaos's power had indeed given the man the ability to become a full Soul Reaper, while his companions would be close but not quite the same, but there were the other demons to think about. Would they become Inner Hollows instead? The other Visored would be able to help him with that…even if there were three of them. That could prove to be quite a big advantage. Three Hollow forms…

He really needed to keep Vincent away from Squad Twelve; they would have a field day.

"You know, it might be pretty hard for you to adjust to using a sword." Rangiku was leaning her head on her arms and over the desk. "You seem used to guns only."

"I can adjust." Vincent shrugged.

"You'll probably just have a long-range type zanpaktou when released." Toshiro added in. "There was a Soul Reaper like that, but he was defeated some time ago. Can't remember his name."

"I don't think anyone does." Rangiku waved her hand with an air of indifference. "I'd really like to see what their zanpaktou do though."

"We aren't trying anything until tomorrow when Urahara gets here." The Ice Captain looked up from his paperwork and raised an eyebrow at his Lieutenant. "And you don't get to see anything until that pile is gone."

Rangiku sighed heavily and sat back up, reluctantly picking up her pen and writing. Vincent counted that as the fifth time he'd had to do that since they came to the barracks over the span of an hour. How did he put up with it?

Well, he'd been doing it for over forty years, the gunman guessed Toshiro was used to it.

He was worried far more about what would happen when he got his Soul Reaper powers.

* * *

**Slight break in studying for Finals, finally managed to get this done. My Finals finish up next Wednesday from now so after that i'll get to work. It might be a little slow since i'm having trouble with my wrist again - dad wants me off the computer for awhile to let it heal - but I hope to keep it going.**

**Sorry for the terrible wait but here's the part after the meeting! Enjoy!**


	8. 7) Resting for Training

Cloud, Tifa and Shelke had managed to find a Lieutenant, the Lieutenant of Squad Five, but she seemed a little unsure about leading them around.

"I was, um, off to see Sh-Captain Hitsugaya." The young looking girl, black hair up in a blue-clothed bun and brown eyes wide with a sense of childish innocence, replied to their question about finding Captain Ukitake. "He's been really busy lately with all this Sephiroth business, I was going to try and cheer him up."

She had a small box, of what they didn't know, and she looked proud of it.

"What's in it? Sweets?" Tifa smiled sweetly while Cloud looked rather curious about the girl herself.

"Oh no, he hates candy and things like that." She sighed. "Captain Ukitake likes to give him some when they pass in the halls but he always gives it to Lieutenant Kusajishi instead. This is Amanattou, his favorite. He used to eat it all the time when he could back in the Rukongai."

"Oh? You grew up together?" Tifa gained that curious look in her eyes as well and Shelke was also recognizing the familiar situation. "Could you be Momo Hinamori, then?"

Momo blinked in confusion at how they had figured out her name.

"Captain Hitsugaya mentioned someone he lived in the Rukongai with, someone he considered a sister." Shelke told her and the Lieutenant beamed.

"That's right! I always thought of him as a little brother. Though, he's a Captain now and he won't let me call him Shiro anymore."

"I'll go back to the barracks with you." Shelke offered, wanting to get to know this mysterious sister of Toshiro's better.

"Oh, thanks." Momo smiled kindly at her, and then turned to the other two Gaians. "By the way, try to find Rukia; she's the Squad Thirteen Lieutenant."

"Will do."

Cloud and Tifa continued on, hoping they would stumble upon Rukia or Jushiro. They were lucky enough to stumble upon the latter as he was on his way back from chatting with Shunsui. He replied to their question for information with a smile and said he would gladly tell them what he could, leading them towards his own Squad barracks.

As for Shelke, she walked quietly on with Momo back to the Squad Ten barracks.

"You don't talk much, do you?" Momo said to the ex-Tsviet.

"I tend to analyze my situation first before speaking." Shelke replied.

"Wow, you sound like Shiro." The Lieutenant giggled. "Are you a prodigy, too?"

"I guess I could be considered that. I'm actually turning twenty in a few weeks. My body has yet to grow into my age. My sister says it may take some time before the Mako in my body wears out and I can grow normally."

"Well I guess you get a few extra years tacked on then." Momo seemed rather startled by Shelke's age, as the girl was hardly bigger than Momo herself. "Most humans are always trying to find ways to look younger."

"It's a different case when everyone thinks you're a child."

"You sound so similar to Shiro." They reached the Squad Ten barracks. "Alright then, let's see if he's too busy for these."

They stepped silently through the halls together, Momo masking her Spiritual Pressure so as to surprise her 'brother'.

Inside the office, Rangiku had fallen asleep again and this time Toshiro didn't bother waking her up. He had too much work of his own to waste energy waking her up constantly. Vincent was rather silent as well and the Ice Captain vaguely wondered if he was also asleep. What was the gunman waiting for?

The doors slid open and two people stepped inside, catching Toshiro's attention, as well as the gunman's, proving he wasn't asleep.

"Momo?" Toshiro was definitely surprised to see her there, along with Shelke.

Vincent looked far more interested now. This was the 'sister' he'd been so worried about when Nero had trapped the boy in darkness. The one Aizen had forced him to hurt multiple times without him even knowing it.

"Hey Shiro!" Momo greeted with a big smile, stepping over to his desk and placing the box in her hands on his desk. He looked at it curiously.

"That's Captain Hitsugaya, Hinamori." Toshiro replied, smirking slightly. She just beamed at him. "What's this?"

"Captain Unohana helped me make it. It's Amanattou, your favorite." She giggled as the Captain grew a slight blush and quickly opened the box. The treat always brought out that rare child side that no one ever got to see.

"Thanks, Momo."

Letting her 'brother' eat, she turned to the black haired man in the room.

"You're one of the Jenova War Heroes, too, right?" She questioned.

He nodded.

"I was the one travelling with Hitsugaya to stop Omega. He helped me out quite a bit; I probably wouldn't be here without him."

"There were times you had to help me, though, so don't think you're in debt to me." Toshiro's expression went dark for a moment as he remembered Nero's Oblivion. "Besides, in the end it was both of us who had to stop Omega together."

"True." Vincent shrugged.

The white haired Captain turned to look outside, noticing the sky darken.

"Everyone should probably get some sleep." He said, standing. "Thanks again, Hinamori, but you should probably get back to see if Hirako has anything for you to do."

"Right." Momo nodded and Flash Stepped away with a small wave of goodbye.

"Since Matsumoto's already sleeping I'll just leave her there." He glared at said Lieutenant. "I'll remain outside in case your friends come back."

Grabbing a handful of the Amanattou before he left, Toshiro stepped outside the office and vanished with Flash Step into the courtyard. Shelke took a seat on the couch opposite Vincent and got comfortable, hoping to get as much sleep as possible. She already knew the trials ahead would be rough and that she would need as much energy as she could get.

A Hell Butterfly came to the tiny Captain as he sat on the roof outside that Cloud and Tifa would be staying in the Squad Thirteen barracks for now since it was already late. Judging by that, Toshiro guessed Kadaj would be staying with Soi Fon. He wasn't sure how the interview was going, but if she was still keeping him, then he must have quite a bit of fascinating information for her.

She had a lot of information alright. Everything Kadaj could remember about Sephiroth was gladly given with as much information as he could muster. She knew almost everything about Sephiroth from the time he found Jenova and began his killing spree to when he used the Remnants against the Jenova War Heroes. Before or after that, Kadaj didn't know a thing. Soi Fon could gauge his strength from that, his abilities, the fact that he only had one wing but could fly as well as anyone with two wings and that he thought he was a god.

Oh how similar he and Aizen were.

When Kadaj told all he could, the assassin let him leave the interrogation room and offered him the couch in her office to sleep on, violently kicking out her own rather obese Lieutenant who was trying to sleep on it.

Somewhere at midnight, Toshiro was alerted by way of the ethereal aqua butterfly that Cid and Yuffie would come back some time the next morning with some others who wanted to come. He was also warned that Rufus was indeed sending his Turks, intent on getting the Soul Reaper power for himself no doubt. The Captain sighed heavily. He couldn't just refuse the president, but his guards were going to be sorely disappointed once Kisuke proved they didn't have the ability.

As almost a last minute thing, the report stated that the Lifestream levels were normal once more and that Natsuko was wondering whether or not to return. Before the butterfly could vanish Toshiro fed it a return reply for at least Natsuko to remain to watch over Marlene and Denzel, since most, if not all, the Jenova War Heroes would be coming to the Soul Society.

That done, Toshiro stepped back inside and went to his room to get as much sleep as possible before the eccentric shop keeper arrived.

* * *

**One more day of Finals then i'm free! Still wearing my brace but if I stay off the computer most of the time I should get better pretty quick. Thanks for all the kind comments ^^**

**The next chapter is where their Soul Reaper training begins and I've got lots in mind ;) I've already picked out zanpaktou names (they're not in Japanese, just so ya know. Gaia has Wutai, sure, but it's not entirely Japanese like the Soul Society so the names will be different.) and i'm working on what the spirits themselves look like, as well as what Vincent's demons will look like as Hollows.**


	9. 8) Preperations

"Ichigo and Yoruichi are coming too?"

The question came from Rukia, the short Lieutenant with black hair just past her chin and large violet eyes.

"Seems that way." Toshiro sighed in reply. "As well as Ichigo's group of friends. They all want to be in on this."

He, Rukia, Vincent, Cloud and Rangiku were waiting in front of the Senkaimon for the now large group of people from the World of the Living to arrive. The Gaians wanted to see for themselves their tutor to becoming a Soul Reaper.

"So Orihime's coming! Fantastic!" Rangiku clapped her hands together excitedly, turning to the Gaians. "She's an excellent cook, by the way."

"Is she?" Cloud asked, watching as Toshiro shook his head quickly while Rangiku was distracted. "Maybe another time."

"Oh well, your loss." Unfazed, Rangiku returned to her thoughts. She also failed to notice Toshiro grimace at the thought of Orihime's cooking, which the Gaians and Rukia saw. The latter smirked, also having dealt with Orihime's cooking before.

Their thoughts turned back on the arriving group as the doors opened, light filtering through from the Precipice World, which Cloud had learned from Jushiro was the in between world of the World of the Living and the Soul Society, which he had later told Vincent.

Six figures ran out of the light and stopped just in front of them. The only familiar face was Ichigo.

"Well, I'm being greeted already." Said a man with blonde hair sticking out from under a green and white striped hat. There was a robe that looked like an inverted version of the Captain's haori over a green shirt and pants and he stood on tall sandals. As they watched the man pulled a white fan out of his sleeves and covered his smile. "Pleasure to meet you! I'm Kisuke Urahara!" He bowed.

A black cat jumped on his back and Kisuke frowned up at it.

"I'm Yoruichi." The cat said in a husky male sounding voice. As expected, Vincent and Cloud assumed the hidden figure to be male, while the Soul Reapers kept silent, deciding it was better to let Yoruichi have her fun.

"Uryu Ishida." A rather lanky looking teen with black hair and glasses over blue eyes bowed as well. His outfit was rather curious, all white with a blue cross and a white mantle over his shoulders. He pushed his glasses back up his nose when he stood.

"Ah, I'm Orihime Inoue!" A girl with hair nearly as orange as Ichigo's yet still distinctly brown and brown eyes filled with kindness bowed excitedly, letting her rather large assets bounce some. She wore a pink shirt with frills at the bottom and light blue pants. She adjusted a pair of blue flower pins she had stuck to her shirt.

A tall man with dark skin and wavy brown hair hanging in front of his brown eyes bowed as well. His shirt was dark with short sleeves and dark pants. A tattoo on his shoulder was seen, a snake slithering around a heart with wings and the words Amore e Morte written on it.

"Yasutora Sado." He said. "Ichigo calls me Chad."

Cloud and Vincent quickly introduced themselves in the same manner, as it was obvious that was what they were supposed to do. Satisfied, Toshiro turned to Kisuke.

"You have a lot of work to do, there are quite a few people." He said.

"I thought so." The shopkeeper smirked behind his fan. Yoruichi sat next to him, glancing between the Gaians. "So, where are our new students?"

"The Kido Corps is allowing us use of their training field as it's the biggest. The rest of them should be gathering there now. These two," The tiny Captain gestured to Cloud and Vincent, "wanted to meet you before that."

"Oh how nice of you!" Kisuke said dramatically. "You know, the two of you have quite a bit of power. I wouldn't be surprised if they rose to Ichigo's level at the same pace he did."

"That fast?" Even Ichigo looked startled by such a thing.

"Perhaps they can actually control their Spiritual Pressure, though." Uryu said, pushing up his glasses again and smirking as Ichigo scowled at him.

"How exactly are we going to become Soul Reapers?" Cloud asked.

"Well, this one will do it the same way Ichigo did, with a little help from Hitsugaya." Kisuke pointed at Vincent with his fan as he spoke. "You and your friends, whoever is capable, will be trying my new method I came up with last night. I had Ichigo's sister try it out and it works, though he wasn't happy with me about it."

"Wait, Karin's a Soul Reaper now?" Toshiro looked rather concerned about that.

"She's been growing her powers for years now." Ichigo grumbled. "And since she already knew about everything, we told her the missing bits and Urahara used his new method to make her a Soul Reaper."

"I thought you developed the method for the Gaians due to their strange energy." Toshiro turned on Kisuke.

"That's the amazing bit, it works both ways!" Kisuke looked extremely proud of his overnight discovery. "Stop worrying so much, your girlfriend is fine."

"She's not my girlfriend!"

The girls giggled slightly as Toshiro fumed at Urahara and a slight pink tinge crept onto his face. He'd be damned if they thought he had a crush on a human…

"Let's not tease Toshiro anymore, children." Yoruichi said, but was also chuckling to herself. "We have a lot of work to do."

The black cat began to lead the way for the long winding trip to the Kido Crops training area. All the Soul Reapers excluding Toshiro raced ahead with Flash Step, and Uryu went using some other version of high speed movement that he didn't tell them the name of, but demanded wasn't Flash Step. Orihime and Chad walked with the Gaians, though the latter didn't speak and Orihime talked quite a bit.

"Inoue, they can't answer you if you continue asking questions." Toshiro said over his shoulder to the teen.

"Whoops, sorry!" The girl paused to bow before continuing with her walk.

Once the girl slowed down and listened to answers, Cloud found it much easier to talk to her. Some of the things she asked were so strange he just didn't answer, such as things he liked to eat. He didn't know most of the food she talked about, but by the way she put them together, it definitely sounded…odd. He understood why the Ice Captain now leading them had earlier shook his head when Rangiku told them about it.

Eventually they made it, stepping through the large door into the enormous, dirt packed field where the others waited. High walls of thick stone surrounded the area, the top being the spirit warding stones, creating an invisible barrier above to prevent any rogue Kido shots.

"There you are!" Kisuke waved them over. The Gaians joined the others while Orihime, Chad and Toshiro stood with their group. Several other Captains and Lieutenants stood further back as if to watch what Kisuke had come up with.

There were quite a few people. All of AVALANCHE had come, including Red, though the wolf seemed to be a spectator. Reeve and Shalua had come to see as well, apparently having refused the power of a Soul Reaper. The four Turks were there as well, glancing around at the enormous training field with both wonder and speculation. Kadaj stood off on his own, uncomfortable among his enemies.

"Alright, alright." Kisuke got their attention. "Now not all of you will be able to gain Soul Reaper powers. I need a minute to figure out who can and can't. Mr. Valentine and Mr. Strife I already know can so if you two would stand over here. Thank you!"

Going to each person in turn the eccentric man examined them all, including Red to his surprise, and pushed those who could gain powers towards Cloud and Vincent while pushing the others off towards Orihime, Chad and Uryu; the spectators. In the end the head count went like this: Vincent, Cloud, Tifa, Cid, Yuffie, Barrett, Red XIII, Shelke, and Kadaj. The Turks growled at being left out but stood their ground. The least they could do now was observe.

"Now, all but one of you will be doing things my way, so listen well!" Kisuke called out to his gathered group, waving his fan at them. "Mr. Valentine, if you would step aside for a moment. I will speak to you privately in a moment once I have your friends moving along."

Nodding, the gunman went to stand next to Toshiro and Reeve.

"You know, I did not expect this many." Kisuke muttered to himself. "Well, let's get moving! First off, since you came straight here from your world, you're technically still in a human body. To gain Soul Reaper powers, you need to be spirits." He left off on that bit and they shared looks while Toshiro mentally smacked himself for assuming that the Gaians were already spirits.

"You mean die?" Kadaj looked at him like he was crazy.

"In a sense." Kisuke smirked behind his fan and the Remnant scowled. "But since this is Soul Society, separating you from your body would leave you permanently dead, so there is that problem. I did think of a solution, however." Moving rather dramatically to the side, Kisuke revealed a large opened black box with multiple silver bracelets inside, enough for all of them and more. "These are just for you guys, a sort of spirit to human shifter and vice versa. Kurotsuchi was kind enough to give me samples of Lifeforce from that rather giant Tsviet sent by Captain Hitsugaya over a year ago. From that I managed to create a device that used that same Lifeforce and shifted it into Spirit Energy, effectively changing your human bodies into spirits as well. Therefore, it will only work for you Gaians."

He picked up one of the thin silver devices and tossed it to Cloud. Catching it swiftly, Cloud examined it before slipping it onto his wrist, looking at Kisuke for what to do next.

"I would have put a button but that could be too easily pressed for the reverse and could cause problems in battle." Kisuke explained, tossing another of the bracelets to Tifa this time. "So, to activate it, you have to focus your energy into it the same way you would a materia, or so I've been told. Once you do that it works for you and only you so don't lose it." He tossed one to Yuffie and then Kadaj. "I will warn you, it stings a bit. Toshiro knows the feeling."

Remembering the experience of having his Spiritual Pressure exchanged for Lifeforce, Toshiro's eyes widened.

"A bit, Urahara?" He snapped. "That hurt like Hell!"

"Oh, well, I've toned it down some." The fan was in front of that devious smile once more and the Ice Captain knew this wouldn't be good. "Besides, this will be their first time exchanging energy, so of course it will hurt. Over time it will only be a tiny little sting and that's it."

"We can handle pain, Captain." Red said, holding his paw out so Kisuke could slip the bracelet on. "We've fought our fair share of battles."

"As have I before I exchanged energy." Toshiro argued. "It's not a physical pain…not really."

"Might as well give it a try, still." Cid shrugged and clasped the device to his wrist, the last one to do so.

"When you first become spirits, the pressure will seem far more intense than ever." Kisuke turned to the various Soul Reapers gathered around. "For the sake of their health, can everyone step back several feet!? Even being near them when they first shift may just kill them!"

Knowing that to be true, especially with so many of them around, the Soul Reapers Flash Stepped to the edge of the training area, including Toshiro, leaving Vincent with his fellow Gaians and the three human friends of Ichigo.

"Okay then! Go right ahead!" Kisuke called out to his new students, taking several steps back himself.

Some of them were reluctant to use it now that they knew it would hurt, which Kisuke had tried to avoid by telling them it wouldn't. Perhaps he shouldn't have said the part about Toshiro knowing the feeling, since then the said Captain would know what he meant and comment. Which he did.

But Cloud didn't hesitate to begin. The bracelet began to light up in an aqua glow like the Mako color of his eyes and he felt a strange sensation in his body. At first it was just a tickle. Seeing this, the others began to activate theirs, different colored glows for the color of their power. As soon as Yuffie got over her hesitation and activated hers, being the last of them, Cloud began to feel it. A sharp pain in his limbs like thousands of stabbing blades and a fire in his veins. His body felt heavy and he collapsed to the ground, before it felt light again and then repeated. The others soon fell into the same situation and collapsed.

Toshiro grimaced at the scene. It looked like they were being tortured and he didn't like it, especially since he knew what it felt like. An inner scorching pain and weights constantly pushing and lifting. Kisuke watched them intently, keeping a watch on their energy levels for anything dangerous and ready to step in if need be. Out of all of them Shelke seemed to be taking it the best and he put it down to her 'training' to becoming a Tsviet. But it still hurt her and Shalua was doing her best not to jump in and help her.

Finally it was over and, exhausted, the Gaians once more began to stand. Yuffie, Cid and Barrett remained seated, Red laying himself out on the ground. None of them recovered quickly from that since, like Toshiro said, it was no physical pain but deep inside.

"Now that that's done you all need a moment to adjust to your new power. Relax a bit and get used to the pressure around you. The Soul Reapers will suppress their Spiritual Pressure for now to make it easier on you." Once said, Kisuke turned from them and towards Vincent. "You, my friend, get to come with me to the World of the Living. The method you're using involves actually separating your soul from your body, which can only be safely done there."

"Are you sure about this?" Vincent questioned, narrowing his eyes at the shopkeeper.

"This method is tried and true, Mr. Valentine! It's how Ichigo became a Soul Reaper." The gunman turned to look at the orange haired teen at the far end with the other Soul Reapers. Not knowing what they were talking about, Ichigo just looked confused. "If it would help I can have a companion there with you. Sadly, your friends need to stay here, but perhaps one of the others?"

"I'll be fine."

"Excellent! Now, if I remember right, Shiro mentioned you having demons inside you."

"I do."

"Well, I assume when you switch energies during this exercise they will become more like Inner Hollows. So I called on some friends of mine with the same situation but they would prefer to wait for now, and Ichigo will come as well, since he's done all this before. And Shiro himself can come since he's a fellow Weapon host and may be able to help you through it."

"Chaos isn't a part of me anymore."

"Oh? Well, I didn't notice." Kisuke smirked behind his fan but all Vincent saw was the mysterious and cunning look in his eyes. "Perhaps he's not as gone as you would like to think…Oh well! Time to go! I need to get you started so I can come back here to begin their training."

After gesturing to the exhausted Gaians, some of the others coming to check up on them, Kisuke started walking away, waving Ichigo and Toshiro over.

The four of them together went back to the Senkaimon where a Soul Reaper with some Hell Butterflies in a cage waited.

"I thought those were for sending messages?" Vincent asked the white haired Captain with him.

"They also give us passage through the Precipice World." He replied. "There's a restrictive current in there that, if it touches you, traps you in place. A cleaner comes through and destroys whatever soul it happens to find trapped in the current. The butterflies allow us to go through a safe path where the current does not flow yet."

Four of the butterflies flew out when the cage was opened and hovered around each Soul Reaper, the fourth hovering uncertainly around Vincent.

"It's never had a non-Soul Reaper charge." Toshiro shrugged at Vincent's quizzical look.

"Alright, let's go through and get Mr. Valentine started, shall we?" Kisuke smiled, jumping through when the gates opened wide.

The other three quickly followed him, Vincent still unsure about everything that was happening. It seemed like they were wasting time. Then again, if it was taking them this long to gain powers and they had the help of most of the Soul Society, Sephiroth would definitely have some trouble powering up as well.

That was the hope anyway.

* * *

**And so the training begins! Hm, don't really know what to say here. Enjoy, I guess ^^**


	10. 9) Urahara's Training: Vincent

The other side of the Senkaimon led them to a spacious area with hard packed dirt and various rocky structures scattered around, the sky above them bright blue, though the clouds looked kind of…cartoony. The space seemed to go on for quite a ways and seemed like they were in the desert.

"I thought we were heading to Ichigo's home, Karakura Town." Vincent asked, turning to the three Soul Reapers with him.

"We are." Ichigo replied. "This is the training room under Kisuke's shop. There's the way back up over there." He pointed to a ladder that extended upwards at least ten stories and led to a black square hole in the sky, which he now knew was indeed fake.

"This is underground?" Startled, Vincent examined the endless rocky landscape once more.

"That's right!" Kisuke beamed. "Now, we need to get you started. Ururu! Jinta! Tessai! Our guest is here!"

Despite having yelled as if they were far away, three people ran out from behind a nearby boulder and stood at attention. Two of them were teenagers; one was a girl a few inches taller than Toshiro with black hair and a rather depressed look in her purple eyes, wearing a short skirted school uniform of a dark red color, while the boy next to here was fierce looking and almost as tall as Kisuke with red hair slicked back and wearing sportsman clothing. As for the man, he was taller than Vincent and very muscular with a thick black mustache and dark glasses, a blue apron over top his clothing.

"Alright, who's starting?" The red headed boy smirked. "I wanna take this guy on, Ururu gets all the fun."

From that Vincent knew the girl was now Ururu, and from a soft whisper on her part to reply to the red-head, he must have been Jinta. That left the big man with the name of Tessai.

"When I did it Ururu was my partner." Ichigo snapped at the red-head, scowling.

"Either one can do it, to be honest." Kisuke smirked. "Ururu is just a little more of a surprise."

Toshiro quirked an eyebrow but said no more, deciding that for this method Kisuke needed to work at his own pace. Whatever he'd done before to get Ichigo his powers, it sure worked. Aizen wouldn't be imprisoned without the teen, who wouldn't have gotten his powers without Kisuke.

"Of course, we can't begin until you're a spirit." He handed another of the silver bracelets to Toshiro. "This one is already on. You need to put that on him the second his soul splits from his body or there could be…complications."

Narrowing his eyes suspiciously, Toshiro took the bracelet and stepped closer to the gunman, waiting. Vincent was already beginning to feel nervous but didn't show it.

"Alright." Kisuke lifted up his cane to point the tip at Vincent's head, which made the gunman tense. "This part doesn't hurt, so relax."

In a split second, the tip of the cane, which had a symbol on it that he wasn't able to fully see, pierced his head. Truthfully it felt more like it was pushing him, but at the same time he could see it piercing his forehead. Wait, that wasn't right. Someone snatched his right wrist and slipped a tight silver band on; right, Toshiro.

With everything being so confusing, his senses all over the place, Vincent didn't really register the flaming pain inside as his energy switched before it was already over. Once he could think properly again he noticed his body lying on its side in front of him, a long silver chain going from his human body's chest to his spirit body's chest. Not to mention the air felt hard to breathe and a weight pushed down on him, forcing him to his knees.

"Yes, the shift will take some getting used to." Kisuke fanned himself, smirking, which Vincent guessed meant it was a success, though he felt like shit. "But we need to move straight on to Step One. Jinta, since you're so eager."

Grinning evilly, the tall red head reached behind the boulder he'd originally jumped out from and pulled out an enormous iron bat.

"To help raise your Spirit Energy you need to be put in an actual fighting situation, which will force you to raise it." Kisuke explained at Vincent's appalled glance. "If you don't, however, Jinta might do some serious damage. I'd prefer if you didn't shoot him, please, though you probably can't use your gun in spirit form."

That was true. The tripled barreled gun he called Cerberus was in its holster on his human body, which was the only thing not to transfer to his spirit body. Everything else had stayed, including his golden claw. At least he had that going for him.

But it was hard to stand even now, and the air was hard to breathe. His new opponent seemed to be enjoying his helplessness. Off to the side, Toshiro was more than willing to step in if the teenager got too reckless. There was training and then there was torture, and Kisuke always managed to walk the line between perfectly. Eyes ever watchful, Toshiro noticed the tense shift in Vincent's muscles as the boy drew closer and a demonic energy just like a Hollow's but mixed with Spiritual Pressure began to seep off of him. It seemed he was using his demons to give him a boost. Dangerous, but it was a start.

It let him dodge at least, as Jinta brought his iron club down with enough force to crack the ground. He swung around for another go and the gunman sidestepped before lashing out with his gauntlet. Startled, Jinta stumbled back to avoid the golden claws, growling as he prepared to strike again.

"Well, his speed has already improved." Kisuke mused aloud, now standing with Ichigo and Toshiro. "I was unsure about him using his demon power at first…"

"He only used it to give him a start." Toshiro corrected. "Notice he's not using it now, only his own Spiritual Pressure."

"Smart guy." Ichigo put his hands behind his head to stretch a bit before returning to being a spectator. "Wonder what kind of Inner Hollow he has, since Chaos was a demon."

"Chaos isn't there anymore, Kurosaki. He returned to Gaia. What you're sensing is probably one of the three remaining demons given to him by Hojo."

"Three?!" Ichigo gaped. "Oh that's gonna be one Hell of a training when the Visored's get to him."

"I was thinking the same thing." Kisuke chuckled. "However, I think there are some traces of that Weapon left."

Toshiro looked at him oddly, wondering how the eccentric shop keeper, who had not been on Gaia and had definitely not even seen Chaos, could possibly know if the demon was still there.

During their discussion, Vincent had managed to get a good grasp of Jinta's tactics and react accordingly, eventually using a side step that got him past a swing and gripping onto the boy's arm, tossing him aside into a nearby rock feature.

Hearing someone clap, Vincent turned to where Kisuke stood next to the other Soul Reapers, noticing his body leaning against the boulder they stood next to.

"Quite an achievement! Jinta's moves are so unpredictable sometimes!" The blonde suddenly appeared before him. If he hadn't been used to Flash Step, the gunman would have jumped in surprise. "How's the air?"

"It's not as hard to breathe." Vincent gripped the chain attached to his chest and followed it to where his body rested.

"You accomplished the task much faster than I thought you would. However, there is the concern about those demons of yours. Since you now run on Spiritual Pressure, they are in a sense Hollows now and will attempt to consume you. And there are three of them."

"I've been dealing with them for years; I have them under control, especially since Chaos left."

"Hm…" Vincent narrowed his eyes at the skeptical look in Kisuke's gaze but neither man said anything about it. "Well, if you're sure, I guess we need to be moving on." He turned his head to look over his shoulder. "That's your cue, Tessai!"

Once again Kisuke had managed to fool him, as instead of coming from behind the shop keeper, Tessai came up behind Vincent wielding an enormous axe. But he wasn't going for Vincent.

The axe fell upon the Chain of Fate and it broke.

"Oi!" Startled, Toshiro was about to jump in when Ichigo held him back.

"This happened to me too." The Substitute said, though even he looked nervous about it.

Too shocked to say anything, Vincent didn't sense Tessai come up behind until the large man had knocked him down, sitting atop him to prevent him from getting back up. With the chain broken, the gunman could feel a strong pull on his chest, as if it was trying to rip away. It kept him from mustering up enough strength to push the heavy man off of him.

"Now this is the tricky part." Kisuke wasn't grinning, but he kept the fan over half his face and his eyes shadowed by his hat. "Now that your Chain of Fate is cut you need to find your Soul Reaper power or else you will be consumed by your demons and become a Hollow."

"Kisuke, are you mad!?" Toshiro shouted, Flash Stepping to be next to the shop keeper. "You'd actually risk killing him!?"

"It's the only way for him." Kisuke replied somberly, watching as the gunman attempted to push Tessai off once more and failing to do so. "His friends will be put under the same strain, just not in this way. For people who have never had a zanpaktou or Spirit Energy, learning to use it is a risk to their health. But you know we don't have time. I have confidence they will make it."

Still scowling fiercely, Toshiro said no more and backed off. He had known nothing about how Ichigo got his powers back when the ones he'd borrowed from Rukia had been taken, but he had not expected this.

"Now, on to the second step!" Kisuke's smile came back, while his eyes remained hard. "The Shattered Shaft!"

"The what?" Vincent grunted, still unable to remove the large man in his current state.

Urahara tapped the ground with his cane and the dirt shifted underneath the gunman, falling inwards until he found himself falling down into a pitch black shaft.

"_Way of Binding Number Ninety-Nine: Part One, Seal!_" The shout came from Tessai, who had separated from him as they fell and was off to the side somewhere.

Just as he hit the ground, hard, Vincent felt his arms become pinned behind his back with thick black cloth and further paralyzed by iron shafts attached to the cloth.

"Dammit." The gunman said between pants, trying to stand but finding it difficult without any arms.

"Can you hear me, Mr. Valentine!?" He heard Kisuke shout from above. A grunt was his only reply. "Oh boy, I think he's mad at me.

Toshiro gave Kisuke a 'no shit?' look and peered down the shaft at his fellow Weapon host.

"Anyway, in this shaft you have three days to awaken your Soul Reaper powers and climb out of the shaft! Since Shiro here," Kisuke smirked when the said Captain glared, "is upset with my method I'll even give you a hint! To awaken them, you need to find your zanpaktou spirit, which will be similar to your demon morphing ability! However, it may be a little hard to concentrate!"

Vincent narrowed his eyes at the shopkeeper, wondering what he could possibly mean.

"You see, the Chain of Fate will begin to erode! It gets rather…painful when that happens!"

"And why did you need to bind my arms?" Vincent snapped.

"Well, the point of this lesson is to climb out of the shaft! Of course, you need your Soul Reaper powers to do so, but to make sure you don't cheat, I had Tessai lock up your arms!"

"You best hurry, Valentine, if you don't want to become a Hollow." Toshiro added on. "I don't want to kill someone from the planet I'm supposed to be protecting." He shot a glare at Kisuke for this who simply grinned behind his fan.

"Captain." Kisuke said in a low voice so Vincent wouldn't hear. "I need to return to Mr. Strife and the others. Can I trust you to watch your comrade here and do what is necessary if it comes to it?"

"…You have my word." Hitsugaya said after some hesitation.

Vincent sat up, glared at Tessai, and thought about what he had been told thus far about Soul Reapers and their zanpaktou. If he remembered right, they were an extension of their master's energy and spirit, becoming a spirit of their own in order to assist the Soul Reaper they belong too. So he needed to speak to his zanpaktou. Toshiro had once told him that he and Hyorinmaru could sometimes speak to each other whenever they felt like it, but to truly have a conversation with a zanpaktou they needed to go somewhere…that's right, one's Inner World. How did the tiny Captain go there?

There were times Toshiro would meditate during the peaceful times in between fights when he had been on Gaia and when he came out of it he would simply say to them that he was speaking to Hyorinmaru. But that didn't really help, since he didn't say how exactly he got into his Inner World. Still, it was his only lead, and he had three days to do it. Becoming a Hollow wasn't very appealing.

Tessai watched the gunman sigh and sit cross-legged on the floor, closing his eyes. As far as he could tell, Vincent already knew what he was doing. But the question now was…could he speak to his zanpaktou and awaken his powers in time?

* * *

**This is where Vincent starts his training, which is a little different from Ichigo's but should be similar enough ^^ The others will be in the next chapter and Vincent will be in and out for a chapter or two until he gets his. Enjoy! Keep reviewing!**


	11. 10) Skill of the Wise

The eight Gaians who were soon to become Substitute Soul Reapers themselves had finally adjusted to the Spirit Energy of Soul Society, enough that the Soul Reapers with them didn't have to try so hard to suppress their powers, though they still needed to suppress it some for the Gaians who were not becoming Soul Reapers.

When the initial surprise of the change was over, Cloud had noticed their weapons were gone. Retsu, one of the Captains who had come to watch the process, gave a possible solution by saying that they were weapons of their mortal bodies, and so their still hidden zanpaktou spirits had either cast them out or absorbed them, since they would no doubt be similar in their released state. Once their names were learned, anyway.

"So how do we find these 'inner spirits'?" Yuffie asked, stretching herself out now that it didn't hurt anymore.

"Well, I would love to explain," Retsu sighed, "but since you gained these powers in a different way than anyone, even Kurosaki, I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that."

"How am I to gain a blade when I can't use one?" Red questioned.

"Urahara must have something in mind for you or he wouldn't have singled you out with the others." Sajin replied this time. Over the few hours that Kisuke had been gone, the two wolf-like beings had shown signs of a good future friendship.

"I'm interested in how that man intends to help them find their zanpaktou spirits." Mayuri came up to them rather suddenly, making them jump and Kadaj even backed away a few steps.

"I'm sure he has everything planned out and that everyone will be fine." Retsu replied with a small smile. Not being on the receiving end, the Gaians didn't feel the oppressing aura behind her smile that caused Mayuri to frown and walk away.

Of the three Visored Captains only Shinji came to watch. His interest was on Kadaj, the one with the darkest feeling Spiritual Pressure. Of the eight Gaians, Kadaj seemed to be the only one with powers close to a Hollow, making him frown. Shelke had some dark feeling to her power, but not enough to warrant any concern, only Kadaj. After thinking about it a moment, he guessed it was because Kadaj was a Remnant, therefore a reincarnation of Sephiroth, an evil man. As for Shelke, he assumed the dark feeling came from whatever was left from her induction into the Tsviets.

Pushing that aside, Shinji focused on one thing. He needed to keep an eye on Kadaj to see if he developed an Inner Hollow during Kisuke's training. He'd already been warned that Vincent would definitely have one, possibly three, so he wasn't all that surprised to find another possible Visored among Gaian ranks.

There was a swish of wind and Kisuke had returned. He was alone.

"Where's Vincent?" Tifa questioned after confirming that the man in red was not anywhere in sight.

"His training will continue with Toshiro and Ichigo for now." Kisuke said evasively. "After all, I have more than one student this time. It looks like you have all adjusted."

"Yeah, now let's get on with this." Barrett snapped, waving his silver arm threateningly. Only he knew that at the moment it didn't work, probably for the same reason Cloud and the others were missing their weapons.

"My my, so impatient." Kisuke pretend pouted. "But I suppose we should get on with it. Do you all know the basics of what a zanpaktou is?"

"Captain Hitsugaya said it was an extension of a Soul Reaper's power with a spirit of its own." Cloud answered for them, as not all of them knew.

"Correct!" Kisuke surprised the swordsman by patting him on the head before quickly backing away when Cloud attempted to push him back. "And did he tell you how a Soul Reaper learns the name of their zanpaktou?"

"I thought you just knew it." Yuffie replied with a confused expression, glaring when some of the watching Soul Reapers snickered.

"Oh no, not true at all." Kisuke snapped his fan shut and wagged it at her like one would wag a finger at a bad child, making Yuffie stomp her foot childishly. "It takes trust between Soul Reaper and zanpaktou as well as communication. Since you've only just had your energy changed for Spiritual Pressure, the zanpaktou spirits inside have only just awakened and you won't be able to hear them. They won't trust you as their master at all. So! The first thing you need to do is try to establish communication with them!"

The Gaians thought that was simple enough, since they had seen some Soul Reaper or another meditate to speak to their zanpaktou. It was when Kisuke's expression turned dark that they knew it wouldn't be so easy.

"But, as I learned when using this method on young Karin Kurosaki, they don't easily respond if you're perfectly fine and have no need of them. It's best if they have a reason to speak with you."

"What are you getting at?" Kadaj scowled.

"Well, since there are so many Soul Reapers nearby, why don't you pick an opponent!?" Kisuke gestured to the gathered Soul Reapers dramatically. They also seemed stunned but recovered quickly, understanding what the man was getting at more than the Gaians did. "Better yet, to make it challenging, how about we let the Soul Reapers choose one of you as their opponent?"

The first to respond was none other than Byakuya, who Flash Stepped to stand in front of Cloud, startling him. For one of the two to vote against having them become Soul Reapers, Cloud thought he seemed rather eager to test them. The next two immediately partnered was Kadaj with Shinji and Yuffie with Soi Fon, Red with Sajin partnering soon after. Rangiku went to join Tifa, the girls seeming more willing to talk it off rather than fight and Rukia, ignoring them, went to join Shelke, bowing in greeting to the Ex-Tsviet.

Cid and Barrett almost thought they had been ignored until two new faces came towards them. One was well-built with tanned skin and a bald head, red coloring around his thin black eyes. His uniform had the sleeves cut off with a gold shoulder guard on his right shoulder with a Japanese symbol on it.

"Ikkaku Madarame, Third Seat of Zaraki's Squad." The bald man grinned wickedly, his zanpaktou resting over his shoulders, and stood in front of Cid.

The second man was as different from Ikkaku as the sun was the moon. He was overweight and looked rather unwilling to be there, yet interested all the same. Black hair that receded from his forehead and pointed up slightly crawled around his head and had small sideburns. There was a purple mantle of some sort around the collar of his uniform. There were multiple rings on his fingers.

"Marechiyo Omaeda, Lieutenant of Squad Two." He introduced himself to Barrett. The black man had not expected this fat Soul Reaper to be a Lieutenant, and definitely not part of Soi Fon's squad.

"It seems you all have opponents now." Kisuke caught their attention, waving his fan for good measure to make sure they were all paying attention. "So, you'll obviously need your zanpaktou to fight these lovely gentlemen and ladies squarely. When your zanpaktou senses you are in danger they will attempt to call out to you. Listen for them and establish communication to learn their name. Oh, and don't get killed!"

That said, Kisuke joined the other Soul Reapers at the edge of the arena with Flash Step. Just in time, too, as all but Marechiyo and Rangiku drew their blades immediately, their Gaian opponents backing away to dodge first strikes and spreading themselves out. While the Gaians could tell that the Soul Reapers were holding back, especially since they had witnessed the power of a Captain themselves when Toshiro fought Omega, but even at this level they felt the threat of death at every stroke.

Shelke had managed to at least keep her quick reflexes, but her magic was gone which meant she couldn't create a shield. Not to mention her unique skill, data hacking and the like, was useless in a situation that called for swords. Rukia, who had smiled so warmly when greeting the Ex-Tsviet, was now a mask of no emotion. The blade in her hands sang through the wind as it passed mere inches from her skin.

'_**Are you going to run all day?**_' A bored and monotonous voice sighed. '_**Though you're probably better off than the others.**_'

'_You…are you my zanpaktou?_'

'_**Depends, doesn't it? Can you figure me out?**_'

Shelke scowled and rolled to the side as Rukia came by for another strike.

'_Are you going to help me?_'

'_**Not much in it for me, is there?**_' The female spirit spoke in such a monotone voice, but by the way she sighed it was obvious she was bored.

'_**Or me!**_' A second female voice, much more emotional than the first, cried out loudly.

'_I have…two?_' Shelke dodged to the side when Rukia swung down and kicked out, surprising the petite Lieutenant. Grunting, Rukia backed away before shooting the Byakurai spell at her.

'_**Two spirits, one name.**_' The bored spirit replied. '_**Can you hear it?**_'

Shelke heard the louder one cry out something twice, but it came out too muffled for her to understand.

'_I can't hear it yet. What do I have to do?_'

Shelke sensed the bored spirit perk up at this, as if she hadn't expected the woman to say that. Stoically excited, the spirit began to explain.

'_**Remember what you're fighting for now. What you promised yourself when you followed Vincent and left the Tsviets to live with your sister.**_'

Shelke was beginning to tire but still managed to dodge Rukia's strike. The young woman noticed that her opponent's blade was changing shape.

"Dance, Sode No Shirayuki!" She called out, spinning the blade in a half circle in front of her. The air turned cold, but more like the soft cold of snow than the bitter ice felt when Toshiro released Hyorinmaru, and the blade began to turn white, shortening a bit. A white ribbon extended out from the end of the hilt and a bell-like sound played in the air.

'_**Come on! Don't let this midget one up us!**_' The louder spirit called out. '_**Say our name, our name!**_'

'_Remember my promise…I promised to protect others, just like Cloud and Vincent do. I promised to stay with my family._'

'_**And you can't do that if you can't fight.**_' The bored one said, encouraging her. '_**Show them what you can really do when you have something to fight for!**_'

Shelke paused in her run, holding her hands out in front of her and crossed over. Catching on, Rukia paused a few feet away, watching. The spectators watched in awe, as Shelke seemed to be the first one.

"Dive, Corumaica!" The petite woman shouted out, a thin orange aura beginning to seep off of her as her Spiritual Pressure rose.

The two zanpaktou spirits inside gladly obliged and a form began to take shape in her waiting hands. When the orange glow of her Spiritual Pressure faded and the wind settled, Shelke saw that she held a blade in each hand. The right was a blade as long as her arm and glowing bright orange with heat, the hilt in her hand black clothed with a spherical guard that had orange energy swirling inside. A long cord extended from the hilt's end and to the blade in her left hand, which was shorter than the other with the same hilt but did not glow. Instead the blade was black and had a neon orange line running down the middle.

'_**Well? The best way to learn our power is to fight!**_' Shouted the spirit of the shorter black blade excitedly.

'_I'm…I'm so tired…_' Shelke fell to her knees and Rukia rushed over, blade returned to normal and sheathed.

"That's enough for today, you already learned your zanpaktou's name." The petite Soul Reaper smiled. "Let's get out of here before one of the others crushes us."

Supporting the young woman Rukia quickly Flash Stepped away. Kisuke nodded to the Lieutenant in approval, since Shelke had finished the lesson, and returned to the others. By the looks of it, Cloud and Kadaj were on the verge of releasing their zanpaktou as well. The others were getting tired but showed no signs of giving up.

It was only a matter of time. If they could all find their zanpaktou spirits within the three days that Vincent also had in the Shattered Shaft to find his, then they would be at a good pace. Bankai could come later, they needed a way to fight when the time came for it. That was most important now.

He frowned as Yuffie fell under Soi Fon's harsh attacks, unable to continue. Sighing, the assassin took the now unconscious ninja out of the arena. Perhaps it wouldn't be that easy.

* * *

**So Shelke is the first to get her zanpaktou! Miss smarty pants would of course be first, in my opinion anyway. And yeah, the names are elvish. Corumaica stands for Cunning Blade. For future reference, the bored one will be called Coru(Cunning) and the loud one will be called Maica(Blade). Shelke splits the name since there's two of them, hehe. Enjoy!**


	12. 11) Wolves and Shadows

Cloud knew he was there. He could hear that deep voice echoing in his mind. But it was hard to concentrate within when he was too busy dodging the lightning fast noble without. Byakuya showed no mercy even if he had yet to release his zanpaktou. His skill with Flash Step alone was enough to keep the destroyer of Sephiroth on the run. He didn't like this at all. And getting shot at with Kido wasn't fun either.

'_Why can't I hear you?!_' Cloud growled inward at the hidden voice. It made to reply but the voice was still muffled.

In his peripheral the swordsman saw Shelke gain her zanpaktou, blades similar to her former sabers she used under the Tsviets. Tifa was at least having luck fighting off Rangiku since she used only her fists to begin with, but that probably meant her zanpaktou wouldn't see a need to help her. The others were all having difficulties against their opponents. If they couldn't block a Captain who wasn't even using Shikai…then they were in really bad shape.

'_I can't let this happen. I have to get this power, to make sure none of my friends ever die again._'

'_**That's better…**_' The deep voice sighed, startling Cloud enough to falter his step where Byakuya nearly cut his arm off. '_**Keep this up and you may just be able to hear my name.**_'

Cloud nodded, catching a glimpse of Yuffie falling to her opponent's blows and being carried out. While the assassin seemed to have gone easy on her, he couldn't expect Byakuya to do the same. He had just tried to cut his arm off.

In a similar situation as the blonde swordsman, Kadaj could not get his zanpaktou spirit to give his name. He was starting to get frustrated; he was tired of running away from the smiling moron Captain attacking him.

"What, that it?" Shinji teased, going in for a blow to the neck that was ducked under. The Remnant was quick, Shinji had to give him that, and his reflexes were supernatural.

'_**This idiot's got you on the run!**_' That sneering voice in his head laughed once more.

'_He wouldn't if you would give me your damn name!_'

'_**Ha! Because I want to give my name to you! You don't have a reason to fight, not a good one. You haven't looked hard enough.**_'

'_I want to kill the bastard that left me for dead after using me._' Kadaj flitted around a combo of strikes from Shinji before trying to at least get a good punch in on the Captain's stomach. Shinji moved aside just as easily as the Remnant had.

'_**Warmer…**_' The voice teased.

'_I don't have any other reason for fighting!_'

'_**Liar.**_'

'_You're annoying!_' Kadaj outwardly scowled and Shinji smirked; obviously this zanpaktou of his was causing the boy trouble. He wondered what kind of spirit it was.

'_**Since you seem to be in such a bind and I'm such a nice spirit, I'll give you a hint**_.' The spirit sneered again. '_**Why are you even alive at the moment?**_'

'_Aerith brought me back…She saved me._'

'_**Don't want to waste your second chance, do ya?**_' The teasing had left the spirit's voice, even if he was still acting playful.

Shinji paused as the Remnant's Spiritual Pressure began to rise. Further away, Byakuya paused as well. Something was up with his opponent; he had stopped dead in his tracks.

"You're leaving yourself open." Byakuya told the man, lifting up Senbonzakura to deliver a killing strike. He would change the direction of the strike at the last second to avoid killing him but to show he was not afraid to kill him.

'_**Don't stand there, Cloud, call my name!**_'

"Rise above, Morinauro." The blonde spoke in a normal tone and the aqua color of his Spiritual Pressure did the same thing Shelke's had, rising off of him and stirring up a harsh wind around him, forcing the noble back.

At the same time, Kadaj's emerald green energy made itself visible as well.

"Devour, Mordofea!" Shadows converged around his left hand, forming a shape. It twisted into a double-bladed katana, the metal black and giving off wisps of darkness. As Kadaj didn't quite have control of it yet, the blade kept morphing at points, showing that it had the ability to change shape.

As for Cloud, an enormous blade was forming into his right hand. It's shape was similar to that of his Fusion Swords, and even looked like it had the ability to separate the same way they did, but there was a black chain hanging off the hilt with a wolf head on the end and it was wrapped around the blade as well. Rising his Spiritual Pressure even higher, the chains lit up with aqua light and dispersed.

"Goodness, this is quite the progress they're making!" Kisuke exclaimed on the sidelines as Byakuya and Shinji assisted their exhausted opponents off the field where the others still fought. He then turned to the sky, noticing the dark tint to the above as the oranges and pinks began to recede with the sun below the horizon. The moon was also beginning to show itself in the fading light. "Perhaps we should let them rest for now, they've been going at this for three hours and it's already getting dark. I'll make sure to start them early tomorrow."

Using a whistle, which startled most of the people around him and several of the fighters, Kisuke got their attention and waved them over, signaling that this training was over. Exhausted Gaians were supported over by their Soul Reaper opponents until they were all gathered around with the others.

"Fantastic work! Three of you already have you zanpaktou manifested!" The shop keeper grinned widely. "But as you can see it's getting dark and since none of you can Flash Step its best we get you on your way to wherever you'll be staying before night falls for good."

No one argued to that and some of the Soul Reapers quickly left, the fighting over with.

"Before you all go, I wish to speak to the three of you who gained their Shikai." Kisuke hid behind his fan again and looked between Shelke, Cloud and Kadaj.

Shalua glared at Kisuke but reluctantly left her tired sister's side and went with Reeve and the Turks to leave for Gaia. Tseng was to stay and watch what happened for reports to Rufus, but the others had no reason to stay since they weren't going to become Soul Reapers. Cloud watched the rest of his fellow Jenova War Heroes leave, apparently going to the Squad Ten barracks for now where Rangiku had managed to set up some sleeping space. The other Soul Reapers left all Flash Stepped away while Rangiku, Rukia and Retsu helped the tired Gaians along.

"If we're done, shouldn't Vincent be coming back?" Cloud turned away and back towards Kisuke.

"His training is a little more complicated than yours and is a constant thing. I assure you, though, you will see him either tomorrow or the next day." Urahara replied, snapping his fan closed and pointing it at the blonde. "Now, I first want to speak to Kadaj."

The Remnant sat up a little straighter, wondering what the man wanted. His eye twitched due to something Mordofea said but he didn't reply to it.

"This may seem rather shocking at first but hear me out." A serious expression took over Kisuke's face and the three of them tensed. "Your power holds darkness not unlike that of a Hollow. I wouldn't be surprised if a second spirit shows up with Hollow abilities."

"You're saying I'm a Hollow?"

"Heavens, no! I'm saying you might have an Inner Hollow due to the dark potency of your Spiritual Pressure. It's not uncommon, as Shinji has one too."

"That Captain I was fighting?"

Kisuke nodded and Cloud actually shared a glance with Kadaj.

"What…does an Inner Hollow do?" He asked nervously.

"Well, normally with Soul Reapers, the Inner Hollow attempts to consume you. However, since your power stems from darkness, so it seems, it may be more willing to be your ally. We'll just have to wait and see what happens; you may not develop an Inner Hollow at all. I simply wanted to warn you."

"Right…" Kadaj looked rather uncomfortable with the information. Mordofea was crazy enough by the sound of it, or at least, as crazy as he had been under Jenova's influence. He had no idea what an Inner Hollow would be like.

"Now on to the topic for all three of you." Kisuke let his smile snap back onto his face and he snapped his fan open, fanning himself. "Now that you have established communication with your zanpaktou and have even learned their names, the best thing for you now is to learn how to travel to your Inner World and speak with them face to face by using a method called Blade Zen. It establishes the trust factor and lets the zanpaktou know you're willing to listen to them if they have something important for you."

"I once saw Captain Hitsugaya meditate and when I asked, he said he had been speaking with Hyorinmaru." Shelke commented.

"That's exactly how Blade Zen is done. Even Captains need to keep communication with their zanpaktou, Toshiro especially since his power is still a little underdeveloped as he's young. I'm sure he talks to Hyorinmaru even more after he learned that the dragon was a Weapon."

"And if we're no good at meditating?" Kadaj huffed, looking at his zanpaktou. When the three of them had nearly collapsed from exhaustion, their blades had reverted to that of normal katanas, though the hilts and guards were different for each of them. Cloud's had a red clothed hilt and a guard similar to the swords used by SOLDIER members of the lower class. Kadaj's wasn't any different than Souba, the white ribbon dangling at the hilt's base. Shelke's was bare of any cloth, the black metal clearly seen, though there was a neon orange streak running down the middle and the guard was fairly geometric with thin lines that made her think of a computer chip.

"Well, your zanpaktou might give you a little push." Kisuke smirked at Kadaj's comment. "I know Ichigo once told me that Zangetsu occasionally pulls him into a sort of in-between realm to talk to him, yours may do so as well."

"Weird."

"I've realized that the names of our zanpaktou don't seem to be in Japanese like everyone else." Cloud spoke up.

"To be expected, seeing as you're from another world." Kisuke shrugged. "To be honest, I would be surprised if they were in Japanese.

"But it's getting late and that's all I wanted to say. I should probably see how Mr. Valentine is doing with Shiro and Ichigo. Good night!" And then he was gone.

For a moment, the three Gaians sat together in the darkness in silence.

"So…who knows the way to Toshiro's place?" Kadaj broke the silence.

Shelke and Cloud sighed. They needed to find another Soul Reaper, and soon.

* * *

**Sorry this took so long, father's day got me all off schedule and I got a new game ^^ Here it is! Cloud and Kadaj get their zanpaktou. Cloud's stands for Black Werewolf and Kadaj's stands for Shadow Soul. Enjoy!**


	13. 12) Chaotic Revelation

Toshiro took notice of Kisuke's return in the shop above but didn't move from his position. He was sitting at the edge of the shaft, teal eyes looking below at the panting figure of Vincent. The chain had been slowly eating away at itself and not even the demon strengthened gunman could withstand the pain. It was disturbing to say the least to hear the tall warrior scream with such pain.

But he had gotten close. A few hours ago, just after dawn, Toshiro called down to see how he was faring. Vincent managed to call back up saying he could hear the voices of his demons as well as another voice, which he assumed was his zanpaktou trying to push past the demons. It was a start at least. If Vincent could find a way to pull his consciousness into his Inner World completely the eroding Chain of Fate wouldn't be able to distract him and he could find his Soul Reaper powers.

'_**Chaos probably could have helped him**_.' Hyorinmaru rumbled softly.

'_That's debatable._' Hitsugaya replied. '_And Kisuke seems to think some trace of Chaos remains._'

'_**It's harder to sense if that's true or not with the switch in energy, and I detected nothing of Chaos when Vincent first came here.**_'

'_Maybe it was all suppressed by the Spirit Energy of the Soul Society. I have no idea why Kisuke seems to think Chaos is still there, but if he's right…I have a lot of questions for him._'

The dragon grew quiet, silently agreeing.

Toshiro narrowed his eyes at his charge when Vincent's Spiritual Pressure rose slightly. Was he finally getting somewhere? Then it dropped…to a level that coincided with a Soul Reaper in his Inner World. He'd finally managed to get in. And just in time, as Toshiro noticed the chain begin to eat itself again.

Vincent wasn't quite sure what he was seeing. One minute he had been at the bottom of the shaft, Toshiro watching him carefully for any signs of Hollowfying, and now he was in some kind of dark landscape. Vision clearing, Vincent realized he was back in the small room where Cloud had first awakened him from his long slumber after Hojo's experiments. The dark walls were covered in cobwebs, the floor kicked up dust when he stepped. Old and decaying furniture sat around the walls.

And to top it off, the coffin he had been pushed inside was still in the middle of the room, as black and ominous as ever. He hated that coffin. Mostly for what it symbolized for him, but it also got annoying when everyone called him a vampire.

"**So you came to play with the demons, have you?**" Snarled a feral tone, causing the gunman to spin around to the door behind him. It was closed tightly and locked with a heavy padlock. "**It's easier if you come out of your little hole.**"

"Galian Beast." Vincent scowled, recognizing the wolfish voice.

"**Glad to see you still remember me. Now get out here already**." The voice sounded impatient now.

Vincent wasn't really willing to open the door, not to his demons anyway. Then again, his zanpaktou spirit was out there somewhere, of that he was sure. He needed to find him.

Stepping towards the door, Vincent noticed the padlock turn black and fade away. Ignoring the phenomenon for now he went ahead and opened the unlocked door. He assumed his demon would be waiting just outside the door in the hopes of scaring him, but saw that the large figure was instead at the end of the long hallway, cloaked in shadow. Glowing amber eyes looked at him before it turned away and began to climb up the spiral steps to the Nibelheim Mansion that his Inner World seemed to be based off of.

"Galian." Vincent called out.

"**Come on scaredy cat**." The demon jeered. "**You'll have your answers.**"

Scowling once more, Vincent quickly walked over to the winding staircase made of old wood and climbed up after the shadowed figure of one of his three demons. It was strange, only being able to see Galian from the shadows. He had yet to see him full on since his Lifeforce had been exchanged for Spirit Energy. It was unlike the wolf demon to slink in the shadows.

Finally reaching the ground floor of his Inner World mansion, Vincent saw the other two demons, both hidden in shadow as well. He had never seen them so…reclusive before. They stood in the corners of the entrance hall, a large room overgrown with weeds and the stone floor broken up. The stairs leading to the upper floor were crumbling, leaving it inaccessible and the windows were breaking, though outside was simply pitch black.

"**Haven't you figured out yet why they're being so…passive?**" A deep voice echoed around them in the large main room of the mansion.

Vincent turned to the source of the voice, a humanoid shadowy figure leaning on the rail of the second story.

"That voice…" Vincent's eyes widened. "You returned to the Lifestream."

Light seemed to finally shine on Chaos's form and the demon smirked. However, he seemed a little different than Vincent remembered him. For one, the wings weren't there, or at least Vincent couldn't see them, replaced with a tattered black cape and the golden claw that used to be part of his left arm due to his fusion with Vincent was gone, revealing a normal looking demon claw that matched his right arm. Other than that he still had eerie similarities to his host while being completely demonic.

Chaos's golden eyes looked down upon the gunman turned Soul Reaper.

"**Well, with as long as we've been stuck together, don't you think it makes sense I come back when you leave Gaia?**" The demon pointed out.

"Not really."

"**I feel so loved**." Chaos frowned, leaping over the railing to the same floor as his host and taking a few steps towards him. "**Thanks to Hojo and Lucrecia we're eternally bound. We have no choice but to stick together, just like the Ice Leviathan and his brat of a host**."

"Then why did you seem to vanish after the Omega Incident?" Vincent crossed his arms, watching as Chaos seemed to fumble for an answer with narrowed eyes.

"**Well, considering we used all of our power together to stop the beast from rising, I was rather exhausted. I returned to get my energy back, but the minute you started leaving for Soul Society, I got thrust back into you. Not my choice.**"

"And now you're my zanpaktou, just like the Ice Leviathan is Hitsugaya's?"

"**It's the only answer I could come up with. However, that also means my name changed.**" Chaos scowled as though not agreeing with this. "**Just like the Ice Leviathan became Hyorinmaru, I became….**"

"I…didn't hear that." Vincent pointed out and Chaos sighed.

"**Right, there's a method to all this.**" The demon scratched his spiky haired head in thought. For a demon, Vincent thought he was acting suspiciously human. "**Damn Soul Reapers have to be so complicated.**"

Snickers from the demons were heard but Chaos silenced them with a glare. As a Weapon, they could not stand against him. Doing so would be folly, not to mention risk the health of their host. Their lives were tied together, and as much as they liked torturing Vincent, they never killed him.

"**Guess we get to have a nice heart to heart chat, then.**" Chaos smirked, a fierce growl toning his words with evil intent. Now that was the Chaos Vincent remembered as a shiver raced up his spine.

Outside, Toshiro sensed Vincent's energy flare. What was going on in the gunman's Inner World to stress him out so suddenly?

'_Hyorinmaru, have zanpaktou ever been known to travel to the Inner World of another?_' Toshiro questioned the ice dragon.

'_**Not that I've been told.**_' He rumbled back. '_**However, I'm not a normal zanpaktou. I can try.**_'

'_Don't interfere, simply watch. I'm starting to wonder about Kisuke's theory with Chaos and if I remember right, Chaos and those other three demons tended to get…violent with him._'

Humming to show he understood, Hyorinmaru's presence faltered slightly. He'd never tried to reach out to other Soul Reapers before and vaguely wondered if it was possible even for him. He thought he could sense Zangetsu nearby with Ichigo, the teen actually perking up slightly as he felt something stir in the air around him. But while he seemed more in tune to Zangetsu's most prominent emotion, which at the moment was curiosity and a vague excitement from Hichigo, he could not communicate with the being let alone travel to their Inner World.

'_**This may take some practice, but it might be do-able.**_' The dragon gave up to avoid strain on Toshiro and reported in.

'_That's surprising. I had a small hope but I didn't expect it might be possible._' Toshiro looked up from his watch for a moment and his eyes glazed over as he focused more on his inner conversation.

'_**Don't underestimate me, master.**_' Hyorinmaru chuckled slightly.

Allowing himself a small smile, Toshiro returned to his watch.

Off to the side, Kisuke watched the whole scene, hiding his Spiritual Pressure even though Toshiro probably already knew he was there. Benihime, his zanpaktou, had also noticed Hyorinmaru reaching out but had hidden herself from him.

"So Shiro's dragon is finding new powers. He really does have the capacity to become one of the strongest Captains in history at this rate, not to mention a prodigy." Kisuke whispered to himself. "As for Vincent…well, Mr. Valentine seems to have found his way to where his zanpaktou resides. If the presence I felt was what I thought it was, which I'm sure since it had a similar feel as Hyorinmaru, then he's in for a rough time. Chaos won't know a thing about how to get Vincent to hear his blade name."

With a long day ahead of him, Kisuke went to get in a short nap, Ichigo already deep into one, before the next day's training began.

* * *

**Back to Vincent! Doesn't have his zanpaktou yet but he has to do it the hard way, and his revealed zanpaktou isn't any help, haha. Chaos is used to being a demon, not a sword. Oh boy, this will get interesting :)**

**So yeah, Enjoy!**


	14. 13) Heart of Fire

Now spread out a little better over the Kido Corps' training field, the five Gaians who hadn't gained their Shikai and their Soul Reaper opponents faced each other. Their injuries, the Gaians at least, were all healed and they were ready for another round.

The minute Kisuke called out for them to go ahead and start Yuffie rushed forward, determined to get back at Soi Fon for the brutal attacks yesterday. The assassin had no intention of letting up since the zanpaktou spirit within wouldn't rise if the ninja wasn't in any real danger. So, to one up things, she even switched to Shikai.

"Sting all enemies to death, Suzumebachi." The short blade in her hand glowed before morphing into something over her middle finger on her right hand. It was a long golden claw with black stripes, a chain at the end attaching to the golden bracelet on her wrist.

"Whoa, easy!" Yuffie ducked under the claw.

"Just so you understand, my zanpaktou is one that can kill in two hits." Soi Fon paused in her attacks, making sure the ninja could see Suzumebachi clearly. "This first hit plants a mark on your body. If I hit the same spot again, you die."

Taking this in quickly, Yuffie promptly began to run.

Across the field, Red growled fiercely at Sajin, who growled back. With one of the wolf creatures able to wield a sword, the other found himself at a disadvantage. Any time Red went in with claws and teeth for a strike, Sajin would block and counter with just as much swiftness.

'_**Howl for the wolf within.**_' A soft voice whispered to him in his thoughts.

'_I left that behind, I won't become a beast._'

'_**It is who you are, Nanaki. You helped stop Sephiroth with it; your father saved your town with it. Will you really abandon your instinct?**_'

Red paused, panting, and stood across from Sajin with a thoughtful glare.

'_If I can't beat him with human logic, then I will try your method._'

'_**If you so wish, but time should not be wasted.**_'

So Red went back to his same method of fighting, trying to find a way around Sajin's human defenses as well as his natural animal instinct.

Out of the five who had not earned their zanpaktou, Tifa had taken a hint from Rangiku and tried to first make a connection through meditation. She'd managed to at least find the motherly spirit and converse in broken words with her, but there was no chance of learning her name.

Now however, she pushed herself to the limit. If the zanpaktou realized that even at her best she could not overcome the strawberry blonde Lieutenant then perhaps she would be able to fully speak with her and give out a name. On the other end, Rangiku noticed Tifa's determination and gladly obliged.

"Growl, Haineko!" Her blade turned to ash and shot towards the martial artist.

'_**This ash will kill you!**_' The motherly voice of her unnamed zanpaktou called out.

'_I have to beat her._' Tifa replied with determination in her tone, jumping through the ash towards Rangiku only for it to converge on her again, scraping her along her arms as she protected her face.

"Sorry Tifa, but you can't escape Haineko now." Rangiku said, the blade's hilt in her hand held out in front of her.

'_**I beg to differ.**_' The voice growled. Tifa found that her zanpaktou was very much like herself; sweet when speaking to her friends, in this case her Soul Reaper, but venomous to those trying to hurt them.

Vaguely wondering if she should pull back and let Tifa breathe, Rangiku blinked in surprise when violet energy rose up and Tifa's Spiritual Pressure increased, pushing Haineko back.

'_She did it!_' Rangiku grinned.

"Shine, Berenenda!" Tifa called out and the violet light wrapped around her arms. Dark violet armor with black edges covered from the elbow down like greaves, her hands covered in metallic gloves that moved like leather but protected like diamond. A white symbol stood out on the back of her hands against the dark purple in the shape of a flame.

"Suits you." Rangiku beamed, letting Haineko revert back to her sealed form. "Come on, let's get out of here before Ikkaku or Captain Komamura crushes us."

Unlike the others, Tifa didn't seem to be as exhausted as the others with the release of her zanpaktou. However, for the sake of remaining in one piece, Rangiku grabbed hold of the barkeeper and Flash Stepped quickly to the side before letting her stand on her own. Cloud paused in his 'meditation' long enough to give her a congratulatory grin before Shinji bore down on him.

"If you can grin like an idiot then you're not in your Inner World." The Visored growled, making Cloud tense in surprise. The Soul Reapers were the only mass group of people capable of sneaking up on him, it seemed, not including Vincent and Red.

"R-right." Cloud scowled at him before trying once more to find his way into his Inner World. It was far more difficult than he could have imagined using Blade Zen. Morinauro wasn't much help, as he was rather silent, letting Cloud work his way through on his own.

It was midday and the Gaians were growing tired again. Cid's tired old frame couldn't handle Ikkaku's violent attacks and he was taken out, though the pilot still had enough energy to shout profanely, just not enough to stand anymore. Barrett was able to do some damage to his opponent with his metal arm, a fact Soi Fon nagged Marechiyo for as she passed by while chasing down Yuffie, but the large man was beginning to reach his limit as well.

Red limped slightly from a sprain in his back leg but did not back down for one moment. He was still hearing his wolfish spirit speak to him, could still hear it asking for him to revert to his instincts and not use reason to fight. At the rate things were going…Red decided it was time to follow his zanpaktou's advice.

Abandoning his reason, Red leaped forward around Sajin's blade, startling the Captain, and bit into his leg. Grunting, Sajin lifted his blade to cut off the offending wolf only to have Red leap back before rushing around behind, jumping onto the giant's back.

'_I can't predict his movements anymore._' Sajin thought to himself, impressed, though outwardly he growled as he threw the fire wolf off of him.

'_**Keep going.**_' The voice spoke to Nanaki. '_**Can you hear it**_?'

Red began to circle around Sajin like a predator would, watching for the slightest movement that revealed weakness. Sajin kept his vulnerabilities covered, not wanting this feral version of Red to take the chance.

"Burn," Red growled in a low tone and Sajin's eyes widened as red energy lit up over the red fur of Nanaki's body, "Racanar!"

Flames covered Red's forelegs, back and tail with a fierce red light before dying back down. Black armor covered the spine with short, fang-shaped spikes running down it. Black armor with spikes latched around the tip of Nanaki's tail where the fiery end burned brighter. As for his forelegs, there was black armor there as well, with black metal claws over his natural ones as sharp as any zanpaktou. Due to Red's animal body, the zanpaktou had, in a way, fused with him, covering him completely; a clad-type zanpaktou, similar to Ichigo's Bankai and Tifa's new Shikai.

"Congratulations, friend." Sajin sheathed his blade and Red calmed down his instincts, no longer threatened. The zanpaktou glowed red before reverting to a short blade strapped in a black sheath on his right shoulder where he could grip it with his mouth easily. "You have done well."

Picking the tired wolf up and hoisting him over his shoulder, Sajin quickly left the arena and set him down next to Tifa. The woman quickly shifted over to the wolf, petting him softly to make him feel a little better. Despite seeming mostly wolf-like, Red purred his thanks and relaxed, glad to be done with this part of the training.

Out of the two remaining Gaians still trying to find their zanpaktou spirits, only Barrett could hear the voice. Yuffie thought she heard whispers but couldn't tell, and Cid was too busy cursing himself while Retsu healed him to worry about any voices in his head, though there was one. He mostly ignored it, to the voice's dismay, but it waited, knowing tomorrow it could surprise him.

"If Vincent can do as well as his friends, he should easily manage to find his powers in time." Kisuke whispered to himself, watching amusedly as Kadaj and Shinji argued, since the former wasn't able to properly meditate and enter his Inner World. Cloud seemed to have finally managed it and Shelke had no trouble focusing the right way to get there, even Tifa was able to do it quickly, though he'd been told Rangiku gave her a hint.

"As long as they keep this up, anything Sephiroth does will be pointless."

Despite saying this out loud, Kisuke knew better than to look past any possible outcome that was bad for them. Maybe Sephiroth becomes a Visored, or even an Arrancar, or maybe he gains a Hollow army like everyone expected him to.

Maybe he finds out about Aizen and manages to free him.

* * *

**Ack, summer boredom is starting to give me writer's block, which is probably why this chapter feels a little on the short side. Usually they go past two pages on Word Document, but this didn't even make two pages. :( Oh well, i'll get out and about for a while to try and get my imagination flowing again.**

**Anyway, zanpaktou names. Tifa's is Berenenda, which means Brave Heart. I think that's one of her limits, actually...or something similar. Nanaki's, or Red's, is Racanar, which means Wolf Fire.**

**Hope it was okay despite my dead imagination at the moment Enjoy!**


	15. 14) Chaos Rising

Vincent looked once more at the three shadows in the corners, hidden from them.

"Why are they hiding?" He turned back to the demon Weapon turned zanpaktou before him.

"**They are rather different.**" Chaos replied, glancing at the three other demons. "**After all, they've been turned into Hollows. Naturally they want to stay away from a Soul Reaper.**"

"But I'm not a Soul Reaper yet, not until I awaken those powers." Vincent argued quickly.

"**Which is hidden in one of the rooms, as I've told you. You best hurry, day two is ending, and I think the others are getting hungry.**" At this Chaos sneered just as the three demons growled or chuckled in a sinister way.

"The way up is blocked."

"**Oh too bad.**"

"You're supposed to be helping me."

Shrugging, Chaos leaped up to stand on the railing of the second floor.

"**This is all you now, Vince.**" Wrapping the cape around himself the demon vanished into the darkness.

Vincent scowled at where he had vanished, looking at the other demons to make sure they stayed put. Galian choked out a laugh at his caution but did not remove himself from the shadows.

"I don't need to know which room it's in." Vincent said aloud, still glaring at the demons. "It's been in this one from the start, hasn't it?"

Chaos reappeared in front of the entry door, frowning deeply.

"You said it yourself, they won't come near a Soul Reaper." Vincent directed at the Weapon and the demon scowled. "Then they stay in the shadows because the power of a Soul Reaper is in the room."

Saying nothing, the demons moved farther into a corner and Chaos's scowl grew fiercer. He'd finally had a chance to be rid of his host and he'd given away the man's only hope without even realizing it.

Allowing himself a smirk, Vincent reached into the floor at his feet with his golden clawed hand, letting it sink through before pulling back out, his hand gripping onto a long black chain with the Cerberus keychain at the end that once hung at the end of his human body's gun. The butt end of a gun began to rise as well before Vincent paused.

"Can you feel that power?" The gunman said to Chaos, who snarled like a cornered beast. "I do."

He pulled the gun from the floor, a modified form of Death Penalty. The gun was black with glowing red accents and a little smaller than the original, but otherwise the same.

"Bring all into darkness, Gurthatsa." Vincent chanted and Chaos hissed.

But, the laws of a Soul Reaper and their zanpaktou were absolute, and the demon had little choice but to allow the power he'd been trying to hide from his host free. Red energy mixed with black swirls rose off of Vincent's body.

It began to do so on his outward body as well. Above him, Toshiro leaped to his feet and Ichigo sat up from his position on the ground, able to feel the sharp rise in Spiritual Pressure emanating from the gunman. Tessai did his best to keep the restraints on, but Vincent's Soul Reaper powers had given him an extra burst of energy and he broke them. Glancing once at the large man, Vincent grabbed onto him before leaping upwards and out of the shaft, landing a few feet away from the startled Squad Ten Captain.

"Well, it's safe to say you made it." Toshiro smirked ever so slightly as Vincent's Spiritual Pressure calmed back down, the large gun in his right hand reverting to a normal sized katana with a pitch black hilt and a crimson tie at the base of the guard. He then noticed something was off. "What happened to that gauntlet?"

Eyes widening, Vincent moved his left hand from Tessai's back and noticed the golden metal claws were indeed gone, revealing the twisted black skin underneath with spider web cracks of bright red light, demonic power, or Hollow power now. His nails were grown into sinister black claws, very much like Chaos's own demonic arm.

'**_You have far too many demons for your body not to be affected._**' Chaos snickered at Vincent's shock.

'_What happened to the gauntlet?_' The gunman growled back.

'**_Why wear it anyway? They know about your demons._**'

'_Not all of them._'

'**_Oh deal with it, that gauntlet is a limiter, it seals up your demon, or I guess Hollow, power._**'

_'I'm fine with that, put it back._'

'**_You do it; I'm a demon myself after all._**'

Scowling, Vincent willed the demonic arm to become hidden once more and his Spiritual Pressure rose a little, swirling over the arm and recreating the golden gauntlet.

Toshiro raised an eyebrow in question, hardly taking notice as Tessai left to call Kisuke back as quick as possible.

"Apparently it's a limiter." Vincent answered. "It seals my demonic power."

"Convenient." Ichigo stood and joined them. "I guess you would need one with three demons. I've only got Hichigo and he's a pain in the ass." The teen paused as his Inner Hollow snapped back only to ignore it.

Vincent nodded to the teen before turning to the smaller Soul Reaper.

"Apparently Kisuke was right, Chaos is still here."

Eyes widening, Toshiro silently demanded more information.

"When I left Gaia, the Lifestream saw fit to put him back inside me since I was host to him before. He had left to gather his energy after using it up on Omega."

"Strange…Hyorinmaru didn't sense him when you arrived. I assume he was being suppressed at the time by the Spirit Energy of the Soul Society."

Deciding that was the most probable solution, Vincent simply nodded. In his mind, Chaos wondered briefly if he should surprise the Captain. Then again, this world was Toshiro's home world, and he wouldn't be as easily frightened as he had been without his powers on Gaia when he was close to the pure Lifestream. That was definitely a one-time thing, and Hyorinmaru would never allow a repeat. Unlike Chaos, the dragon was rather attached to his master and was not about to let him get hurt easily.

"What did Urahara do next?" Hitsugaya questioned, turning to the orange haired teen with them.

"Well, immediately after I came out of the shaft he went to lesson three." Ichigo scratched his head as he tried to remember. "Which was to try and knock off his hat. The point of it was to learn Zangetsu's name and figure out what kind of power he had. But Vince already knows his zanpaktou's name by the looks of it."

"So lesson three is pointless."

"Well…he could still do something. He knows its name but not what kind of power it has."

"It's not that different from Death Penalty, since Chaos is now my zanpaktou." Vincent replied.

"Then I have no idea!" Ichigo threw his hands up in exasperation as he gave up. "Just wait until Kisuke comes back or something."

Stomping away in a huff, Ichigo left them alone. From the side, Jinta and Ururu watched carefully, wondering what the tiny Captain would do next.

"It may be similar to Death Penalty, but now it's a zanpaktou, so using it will take different skills." Toshiro said to the gunman. "It might be in your best interest to practice with it."

Vincent was about to ask what he had in mind when Toshiro reached back and quickly drew Hyorinmaru from his sheath.

"As a fellow Weapon host, I'd probably be your best opponent." Toshiro pointed the tip of his blade towards the startled gunman's chest. '_Chaos still doesn't like Hyorinmaru; he'll be more willing to give Vincent power if he thinks he's doing it to fight him._'

It had been Hyorinmaru himself that had suggested it, knowing full well the demon still disliked him for leaving Gaia instead of accepting the role of a Weapon while keeping the power of one. It was probably one of the reasons Kisuke even brought him along.

Getting over the suddenness of Toshiro's challenge, Vincent held the blade of his zanpaktou in front of him. Since the gunman kept it a blade, Toshiro realized he wouldn't go into Shikai unless he did so as well.

'_Alright then._' Toshiro thought to himself as he Flash Stepped a good distance away to make sure Jinta and Ururu weren't within range. Vincent followed but at a slower pace, unable to Flash Step yet. '_But until he learns how to use Chaos's zanpaktou power, he won't be a match for Hyorinmaru._'

"Reign over the Frosted Heavens, Hyorinmaru!" The ice spread out around him as the temperature plummeted quickly. The limiter placed on him immediately toned down the severity of its effects, but it was still enough to pressure Vincent.

The gunman quickly shifted into Shikai with a soft whisper and aimed at the Captain before him, despite being some distance away. Remembering the dark blasts of Death Penalty's power, Toshiro was quick to dodge as a similar beam came rocketing towards him, this one scarlet with black tendrils that swirled around the beam for extra width. In retaliation the Ice Captain sent a serpentine ice dragon in Vincent's direction. The freezing water brushed against his left arm before freezing into solid ice, which he quickly broke off before it could spread.

He'd forgotten how terrifying a fighter Toshiro was.

* * *

**Sorry for the wait, I was having trouble uploading :( Anyway, here's Vincent's zanpaktou, Gurthatsa, which means Death Claw. I couldn't find penalty in elvish so I changed it from Death Penalty to Death Claw ^^ Almost have all the zanpaktous now! Enjoy!**


	16. 15) Importance of Bonds

"Oh, have they already started?" Kisuke questioned as he appeared next to the teenagers watching from a distance.

"Yup." Jinta replied. "Shiro figured out pretty quick why you brought him here and acted. They only just started."

"Good! I wanted to see this!" Quickly taking a seat on a boulder the three of them watched as ice and darkness were launched across the skies.

In the battle, Vincent narrowed his eyes as yet again Toshiro evaded his strike with Flash Step, while he had to expel quite a bit of effort to avoid the icicles and serpents being thrust at him from Hyorinmaru's blade.

'_I know he's holding back._' Vincent growled in his mind. '_I've seen what he can do with my own eyes. I need a way to counter that ice._'

'_**You need Flash Step.**_' Chaos corrected in a bored tone. '_**It's how he's dodging you. Makes sense that you need to do the same.**_'

'_I don't know how to Flash Step._' Vincent hid behind a boulder to try and speak to Chaos more privately, ice smashing into it just as he ducked behind.

'_**Watch how he does it and copy.**_'

'_It's not so easy when trying to avoid ice dragons at the same time._'

The demon, from what Vincent could tell, shrugged uncaringly.

Vincent sensed him before he saw him. As he had been hiding Toshiro had Flash Stepped to stand behind him and struck downward. Swinging around quickly, Vincent managed to block the icy blade with his gun formed zanpaktou.

"Hm, for a Weapon, Chaos doesn't seem all that strong." Toshiro said aloud, letting the air temperature drop as icy mist seeped off his blade and towards Vincent.

At those words Chaos snapped to attention and snarled at the white haired Captain. The power of the gun cancelled out the iciness of Hyorinmaru and the two Weapons fought unseen for dominance as their masters kept eye contact with the other.

"I seem to have angered your demon." Toshiro spoke again, smirking ever so slightly.

"That's not uncommon." Vincent replied. "He's usually angry at me."

"Must be nice to have his attention off of you."

"Depends on what he's willing to do next."

Hyorinmaru, having been a zanpaktou for far longer than Chaos, won out over the demon's lack of control with his Spiritual Pressure and an icy wave of energy blasted out from the blade, knocking the gunman back a few feet.

"If Chaos isn't willing to work together with you, he won't be able to beat the combined powers of Hyorinmaru and I. The two of you need to find a way to get along or he'll break easily."

Once Toshiro said this, Vincent noticed an odd energy flowing from his gun. Looking carefully at the weapon in his hand, he realized with surprise that there was a chip in the diamond hard surface.

"The stronger zanpaktou always devours the weaker." Toshiro held Hyorinmaru out front, letting his Spirit Energy rise off of him in visible icy white streams, an icy blue-white glow to his eyes. "Control your Spiritual Pressure and find that connection with Chaos or you won't survive this."

As the pressure increased around him, Vincent had no doubt Toshiro would follow through on his words and found a slight panic rising in his chest. This was far beyond anything he'd ever done, and unlike with Sephiroth, he was in this alone.

'_**You're not alone, dumbass, now focus!**_' Chaos snarled at him. '_**We've fought together before, this shouldn't be so hard! I know we have our disagreements but seeing as we've been bonded for so long if you die, I die, and that is not going to happen! As much as I hate to admit it we're in this together and this brat is not going to kill us!**_'

Vincent reigned in his panic and replaced it with determination as Toshiro lifted Hyorinmaru above his head. In the distance, Kisuke's eyes widened considerably.

"Jinta, Ururu, get as far away as you can." He demanded, watching as dark wisps of clouds began to from in the pressure of Toshiro's energy. "Captain Hitsugaya is serious about this."

The two ran without a second thought.

'_**Put as much energy as you can into this attack, we've used it plenty of times before.**_' Chaos commanded. '_**It has a name and by saying it you'll make it stronger.**_'

Nodding, Vincent lifted the gun in front and aimed at the glowing Soul Reaper. His Spiritual Pressure began to rise to try and counter the icy winds of Toshiro's but the Captain's was still far stronger and wasn't about to let up.

"I don't like using this indoors, nor while in Shikai, but if I did it in Bankai at your level it would most definitely kill you." Toshiro said gravely. "You have a small chance at surviving this."

'_Dammit,_' Vincent scowled and continued to focus his energy into the gun, Chaos assisting him as much as he could. '_I knew Hitsugaya was strong, but I never had to fight him myself. I can see why Hojo was dependent on him being unable to use his powers near the Lifestream._'

'_**That's not important right now, focus!**_'

"_Subjugation of the Heavens!_" Toshiro swung his zanpaktou in Vincent's direction and a thick wave of ice and snow charged forward, ready to encase its target in an icy prison. A blizzard picked up and spread rapidly through the area, reflecting off the walls and threatening to knock Kisuke over, and the teens rapidly climbing the ladder had to hold on tightly.

"_Triple Wolf Shot!_"

Three streams of scarlet and black energy raced towards the speeding ice wave. Hardening his gaze, Toshiro did not stop the attack, putting more energy out to strengthen the wave.

Energy exploded around them, sending out a shockwave that reached even Kisuke, who reached up to make sure his hat stayed on. Once the light had died down, the blonde noticed snow falling in the combatants' general area, scarlet lights scattered around among the white before they vanished like dying embers. He raced over to make sure they were both in one piece.

Toshiro panted heavily, some distance away from where his attack and Vincent's had collided. The energy he'd used left him a little out of breath though not too exhausted and some of the debris created by the waves of ice and darkness had cut him across his cheek and arms, but he was otherwise unharmed. Vincent, however, was completely exhausted, though with fewer scrapes since he had already been farther away when the explosion shook the earth around them.

"My my, you were into this training, Toshiro." Kisuke smirked as he stood between them. "You know your power is still underdeveloped and using that attack in Shikai could give unpredictable results. You were lucky on Gaia since the Lifestream leveled it out while you were in Bankai."

"But it worked." Toshiro replied, sheathing Hyorinmaru. "Vincent's zanpaktou worked with him long enough to stop my attack from fatally wounding him."

'_**Why I oughtta…he planned this!**_' Chaos seethed and vanished into the depths of Vincent's mind to fume by himself.

Ignoring the furious Weapon, Vincent pushed himself into a sitting position, having been knocked onto his back by the blast, and looked at the shopkeeper.

"You did well, Mr. Valentine!" The man fanned himself lazily. "You accomplished your goal far faster than Ichigo had, though he can be a little thick sometimes anyway, and survived a high powered attack from a Captain. I expected much but not this much!"

"Just shut up and get to the point already, Urahara." Toshiro sighed, leaning against a boulder and healing the cut on his sword arm.

"Just trying to be supportive." Kisuke mock-pouted, before turning back to Vincent with a smile. "Now, we should probably get you back to the Soul Society. Oh! Since you're a Soul Reaper now, you should wear the uniform; I went through the trouble of grabbing one for you." He tossed the confused gunman a set of the Soul Reaper garb.

Vaguely wondering how the shopkeeper even knew what size to get, Vincent sighed and stood, moving away to get some privacy before changing.

"You know, Hitsugaya." Kisuke said quietly and Toshiro looked up from his healing. "That was rather dangerous. It could have just as easily been one of the Hollows now in him that came out to block you."

"Once I realized Chaos was the zanpaktou, I was confident that wouldn't happen." Toshiro replied just as seriously. "Those three don't disobey Chaos, if what Vincent told me is true, and I made sure it was Chaos who was helping and not the demons."

"How?"

"It was obvious from the last time we fought together that Chaos doesn't like Hyorinmaru. I simply made a comment to Chaos about how he's weaker than Hyorinmaru and the demon snapped."

"What a devious child you are." Kisuke smirked evilly.

"I'm not just a child, I'm a child prodigy." Toshiro corrected. "And a Captain as well, so stop forgetting my title."

"Of course, of course!" Kisuke laughed while Toshiro glared just as Vincent returned, dressed in the black uniform of a Soul Reaper. "Well, that fits you rather well, Mr. Valentine!"

"It will take some getting used to." Vincent grumbled, shifting the sleeve over his left arm a little more.

"Don't worry, your friends that already have their Shikai are in uniform as well to show that they are Substitute Soul Reapers now as well. You won't be the only one."

Toshiro, finished with his minor healing, began walking back towards where the way up to the shop was, the other two following behind while Kisuke tried to chat with the quiet gunman. The latter's exhaustion was keeping him quiet, as he didn't have the energy to keep up with the shopkeeper.

Once near the ladder, Kisuke had them pause.

"I have your body upstairs, Mr. Valentine, safe and sound. It won't be able to go with you to the Soul Society so I had it moved."

"Thanks." Vincent nodded to show he understood.

"And Ichigo should be back soon, wonder what's taking him so long." While his expression seemed curious, Toshiro took notice to the mischievous look in his eyes and narrowed his own.

"He can get to the Soul Society on his own; Valentine needs to get back to the Soul Society now that he's strong enough in his spirit form to do so."

"Well then, on your way!" Kisuke hid his disappointment about Toshiro dodging his surprise well. "I'll wait here for Kurosaki."

Toshiro just grunted in reply and unsheathed Hyorinmaru once more, stabbing it into empty air where half of the blade vanished. A bright line revealed itself before a pair of doors appeared and opened, two butterflies fluttering out and hovering around the Captain and his charge. The two of them left and the doors vanished just as Ichigo and a second, now furious, figure arrived.

"Dammit, Toshiro." The black haired teen scowled as fiercely as the boy next to her.

"Language, Karin." Ichigo snapped.

"You cuss all the time, brother, so shut it!" Karin snapped back, dark gray eyes daring her brother to stop her.

Not really having a reply to that, Ichigo decided to let it be and give Karin the argument. She was old enough anyways so it wasn't a big deal.

Adjusting her short ponytail, Karin stomped over to Kisuke.

"Alright then get the gate open, I want in on all this and I need to give Toshiro a piece of my mind for ignoring me."

"Eager aren't we?" Kisuke chuckled. "You seem to be adjusting nicely to the role of a Soul Reaper."

"I've watched my brother do it often enough, it's not that much of a surprise." Impatient, Karin tapped her foot against the ground. Deciding he wanted to see what she had planned for the Squad Ten Captain, Kisuke quickly opened the pathway to Soul Society and the three of them went through. The time difference caused them to be behind another hour after Toshiro and Vincent, or so Kisuke calculated as they ran through.

"Who cares?" Karin replied to Kisuke as the shopkeeper explained this. "As long as we get there."

"Someone's eager to see her boyfriend." Kisuke snickered as Karin spluttered and immediately retorted with a kick that caught him in the shin, cutting his snickering short.

* * *

**So here is Vincent and Toshiro's sparring match where Shiro explains the importance of working together with your zanpaktou and what happens when you don't ^^ I know he never actually says the words for Subjugation of the Heavens, it just happens when he goes into Shikai, but considering its the weaker form of Frozen Heaven Hundred Flower Funeral and is used when in Shikai I thought i'd have him say it this time. Hope nobody minds that. Enjoy!**


	17. 16) Checking In

Not long after Kisuke had left, Barrett and Yuffie were told they could stop their training. They really weren't any closer to finding their zanpaktou than three hours ago except for soft whispers, so Soi Fon had stopped them and had them join the others. Cloud, Tifa, Shelke and Kadaj had changed into the Soul Reaper garb, and Red had been given a black bandana to tie around his neck as a sign that he was at least accepted by the Soul Reapers.

"Man, this is hard!" Yuffie whined as she lay against the ground, panting heavily. Over the course of her practice Soi Fon had hit her three times in different spots, but the black butterfly marks were gone now.

"I worry about this one." The assassin Captain said flatly, raising an eyebrow when Yuffie scowled at her.

"Looks like we're the last damn ones." Cid groaned, better rested than earlier and managing to sit up. Next to him, Barrett nodded sadly. The three of them had only whispers to go off of.

Several of the Soul Reapers around them turned towards the direction of the Senkaimon at the same time, alerting the Gains to the fact that someone must have come through.

"Hitsugaya is back." Retsu was the first to comment. "And Valentine is with him."

"Is he okay?" Yuffie asked, knowing they could tell someone's general health by the way their Spiritual Pressure fluctuated.

"Exhausted but fine." The healer replied with a smile. "It seems his training was a success as well."

Tseng, the only non-Soul Reaper Gaian-for which the Captains were trying to find a name for-waited for the gunman's arrival. He'd been watching the training carefully, but when he had asked Kisuke to see Vincent's, the man cleverly skidded around the subject and prevented the Turk from going. He wanted to know what he'd been put through and if it was a concern. Allies or no, the Soul Reapers were completely foreign and Rufus wanted to make sure there wouldn't be another Sephiroth loose. Learning about Aizen was worrisome enough.

It took half an hour but eventually the two of them made it and the Gaians greeted their friend cheerfully, taking note of how he was also in the Soul Reaper garb.

"Everyone's doing really well." Momo reported to Toshiro.

"That's good; Urahara's method seems to be working." Toshiro nodded his thanks to the girl. "So only three of them have yet to find their zanpaktou?"

"Yuffie Kisaragi, Barrett Wallace and Cid Highwind still have not managed to communicate with them. Miss Lockhart says she would help them try Blade Zen later when they're better rested."

"That might help them a little, if they can manage it."

"Maybe you can help them? You were always really fast at it."

"It's one thing to teach it and another to do it. Everyone has their own subtle differences. It's better if one of their own teaches it to them."

Nodding in understanding, Momo got quiet and looked over the group of Gaians, eyes resting on Tseng.

"I wonder what he's still doing here." She mused aloud and Toshiro locked onto the Turk as well.

"No doubt on the president's orders." He replied. "I'm sure Shin-Ra wants to be aware of everything going on. I'm worried he might try to create his own Soul Reaper, and obviously Urahara shares in the concern since he hasn't told the man much."

"They would try that?" Momo looked a little worried about that fact.

"The Shin-Ra company was trying to make super soldiers before and they got Sephiroth. We all see how well that turned out, and even now their mistake is causing everyone trouble. It's in our best interest to keep them from trying anything else like that, especially since Spirit Energy will explode when coming into contact with the Lifestream unless Gainsborough is there, and she can't constantly watch over hundreds of people to keep that from happening."

"Right."

Leaving his 'sister' to Shelke, who had approached her, Toshiro went over to Kadaj and Cloud instead.

"You know, in a certain light, you really do look alike." Cloud spoke first as the Captain joined them.

Realizing he meant the similarities between himself and Kadaj, Toshiro narrowed his eyes threateningly but otherwise did nothing against it. He couldn't really argue against it, since those same similarities had caused him so many problems when he had first gone to Gaia.

"I never got to ask about Soi Fon's interrogation with you." Toshiro said to the Remnant.

"Well, it was really more of a Question and Answer session," Kadaj frowned as Toshiro sighed, "but I gave as much information as I could. I don't really want to repeat it all though."

"I'm sure she has it written down in a report somewhere, but since she seems to be training Kisaragi she hasn't had the time to make copies for the other Captains." Toshiro then turned to Cloud. "And did you manage to learn anything from Ukitake?"

"Quite a bit." The swordsman nodded. "I don't really understand it all, but I've got the basics."

"That's fine; we can worry about details later. For now we need you and the others to at least be battle ready if Sephiroth tries anything. The way you were when you arrived here wouldn't even match up to the weakest Soul Reaper and without knowing your zanpaktou you probably wouldn't even be a match for a low ranking seated officer."

"There are twenty seated positions right?" Cloud questioned and Kadaj looked at him incredulously; not because Cloud knew something like that but because there were so many seated positions and that meant the lowest one must have been pretty weak.

"Right." Toshiro was slightly impressed that Cloud managed to remember that, as it was a detail most people overlooked. Ichigo still couldn't get the right number, usually, though Toshiro debated on whether or not the Substitute was just being an ass or serious.

By that time, Kisuke and his charges had arrived through the Senkaimon, Toshiro's eyes widening as he recognized the black haired Kurosaki sister's Spiritual Pressure among the three. He at first wondered how the girl had gotten to the Soul society, before remembering she was a Soul Reaper now and instead wondering why she had decided to come.

"Excuse me." He said to the two curious faced Gaians in front of him before he turned and walked away to the entrance of the arena. Karin surely couldn't Flash Step yet, so he tried to make a guess on how long it would take them to get there.

That guess was quickly smashed as they arrived in a matter of moments, Ichigo carrying his miffed sister on his back before setting her down. Toshiro noticed the look in Kisuke's eyes and, after seeing Karin glance his way with frustration, quickly realized what it meant. The surprise earlier was Karin's arrival, and instead of waiting he had left.

Oh this was going to be fun.

"Haven't seen you in months and the first thing you do is leave?" The teen girl snapped at him, stomping right over.

"I've been busy, in case you haven't noticed." Toshiro replied, keeping his face impassive.

"You could have at least hung around long enough to say 'hello' back there instead of leaving first chance you got."

"I didn't realize you were coming."

Toshiro noticed with some frustration that some of the others were watching them argue. He glared at them to try and back them off but while some looked away, others just snickered.

"You can usually sense someone coming from pretty far off, why suddenly not?" Karin cornered him.

"I had no need to therefore I wasn't paying attention." Toshiro countered. "Don't you have school?"

"Don't change the subject! And besides, school has been out for several hours now. I wanted to see why Ichi up and left two days ago."

"Well now you know." Pivoting sharply on his heel, Toshiro walked away and Karin fumed. "Seeing as Matsumoto is here and not in the office I can safely assume I have a lot of paperwork to do. I'll be there if you need anything important."

He then quickly vanished from the crowd and towards his barracks. The numbers were dwindling as Soul Reapers left for their squad duties as well.

"Oi, Vincent." Shinji called out to the gunman. "Don't think you're done yet, thanks to those demons you have to work three times as hard as the others."

Vincent frowned but nodded in agreement. He'd been warned about that.

"Urahara was supposed to call in Hiyori but apparently that didn't cross his mind." The Visored Captain continued. "She'll have a fit when she realizes she wasn't informed. Just my luck, that damned Kisuke."

Several yards away and out of hearing range, Kisuke sneezed, startling Tseng who was next to him.

"We should probably get to the Squad Ten barracks too." Cloud said to the others with him.

"I'm going with you." Karin called out, rushing over to them. "Toshiro isn't getting away from me that easily, I still have an earful for him."

"Should you be bothering him, he has a lot of work to do?" Shelke seemed curious about the Kurosaki sister.

"Tch, he's always got work, but it never stopped him from talking before." She replied. "Yeah, he gets annoyed sometimes, but Rangiku does it to him all the time. At least I'm not drunk when I complain to him."

The Gaians found Karin rather daring for a teenager in the presence of Soul Reapers. Then again, she was Ichigo's sister, and he always seemed to purposefully annoy the tiny Captain as well, acting like they were good friends when Toshiro was obviously trying to keep a strictly business persona.

"Alright then." Vincent said to the teen. "Shall we go?"

Rangiku led the way, not seeming to have taken any notice at all to Toshiro's jab at her laziness and just as cheery as ever. Left behind in the arena were Kisuke, Tseng, and Shinji.

"I have a few questions for you." Tseng asked the two blondes.

"If it's about Valentine's training I'm afraid I can't answer, since I myself don't know much about what happened." Kisuke hid a frown behind his fan. "Toshiro was the one watching him the whole time."

"But it was your method of training."

"Yes, but what happens differs per person."

Tseng looked ready to try and coax some kind of answer out of the man until Shinji blocked his view and got very close to his face.

"How about you keep your nose out of it?" He scowled. "We do what we do and it's none of your business what happens. Normally we would never allow this, since it's technically illegal here, but we're making an exception due to the circumstances. Be happy you're still here at all and we haven't kicked you out yet, though we should anyway with your snooping."

Shocked, Tseng couldn't reply before the Visored stomped away and Flash Stepped to his barracks after reaching the entry door.

"My my, perhaps you should consider leaving after all." Kisuke waved his fan slowly and had a childish grin on his face. "You seem to have upset the Captains and considering their power compared to yours…well, perhaps we won't mention that."

Fear lit up in Tseng's eyes before he controlled his emotions and glared, turning to walk away with Kisuke following him. While walking, the shopkeeper absentmindedly wondered what Sephiroth was waiting for. He'd memorized Kadaj's energy, both Lifeforce and Spiritual Pressure, knowing Sephiroth's wouldn't be all that different, but he hadn't sensed a thing. Soi Fon had her Stealth Squad keeping a look out but they had yet to see anything suspicious either.

So where had the Nightmare vanished to?

* * *

**So yeah, bringing Karin into the story. I think I mentioned the pairing of her and Shiro at the beginning, so yeah...anyway, she'll be important. For now, it's time for the Gaian Reapers to relax ^^ Not an interesting chapter, I know, and I didn't post yesterday cuz it was the Fourth of July. Enjoy!**


	18. 17) Teasing Toshiro

The Gaians watched in amusement as Karin berated Toshiro for ignoring her while said Captain only continued to ignore her, trying to get his paperwork done. He didn't seem willing to listen to the Kurosaki sister at the moment but they could tell he was getting frustrated by the decreasing temperature of the room.

Finally, Karin gave up, deciding she's said all she had to say and flopped onto the couch next to Shelke with Red on the floor on her other side. The teen set her zanpaktou against the chair before leaning back and relaxing.

"How long you plan on staying, Karin?" Her brother questioned, having gone with them.

"Until Toshiro talks to me." She replied quickly.

Toshiro glared at her then returned to his work.

"Honestly, the two of you have some kind of love-hate relationship." Ichigo grumbled and the two people he meant glared at him fiercely. They refused to acknowledge any kind of relationship between them, though most who knew them could see it. The Gaians, however, were clueless.

"So what kind of zanpaktou did you get, Vince?" Yuffie turned to the silent gunman.

"He's not that different from Death Penalty." He shrugged.

"Makes sense." Cloud nodded. "Those of us who have ours all have ones similar to our normal weapons to match our skills."

"A zanpaktou is a reflection of their Soul Reaper master, it only makes sense they match your fighting style." Toshiro explained, not looking up from his work.

"And the snowman speaks." Karin spouted sarcastically.

"They will also have similar personalities to you." Toshiro continued on, ignoring the outburst and making the teen scowl. "Whether it's your personality now or from many years ago is debatable, but they will be as stubborn or crazy as you would be, so careful how you deal with them. Except for Vincent's, seeing as your spirit is a Weapon."

"Chaos is back?" Shelke seemed as startled as the others about this revelation.

"Who's Chaos?" Karin questioned.

"A demon from Gaia that resides within Valentine. My Hyorinmaru is also a Weapon but left a long time ago."

"Cool." Karin held a thumb up to the gunman. "Ever since I saw a Hollow I wondered what other kinds of things were real."

"Well, the demons in me have been turned into Hollows." Vincent replied.

"Oh…well, Ichi has one too, guess it's not all that uncommon."

"It's uncommon alright." Toshiro corrected. "Even on Gaia those demons in Valentine are…strange." The tiny Captain didn't go into detail about how Vincent got his demons, to the gunman's gratitude.

"Since you're talking to me I have a question." Karin turned in her seat to look at the white haired boy. Sighing, Toshiro looked up at her, waiting. "We're having a soccer match with a high school gang tomorrow, we could use some help. Mind joining in?"

Toshiro glanced at Ichigo.

"Does she know what's going on?" He asked, eyebrow rising.

"Nope." Ichigo avoided the Captain's gaze.

Sighing heavily, Toshiro set his pen down and explained the current situation briefly to the teen girl. Karin listened with silent intensity, taking in everything and eyes widening at the possibility of another mastermind threatening her home.

"I want to fight this time." She jumped to her feet as Hitsugaya finished.

"Hey, whoa." Ichigo argued. "You've only been a Soul Reaper for a few days, you don't even have the name of your zanpaktou yet, it's still a normal katana."

"I almost have it." Karin retorted. "She's still a little quiet but I've almost got it."

"Hang on." Cid, who had appeared to be asleep, sat up. "We've been doing this training to find the names of our zanpaktou. If Kisuke did the same method on you, how come you don't have the name of yours?"

"I found my Soul Reaper power through the training, just not her name. My zanpaktou spirit is still trying to call me but I've been having trouble hearing her."

"As I said, your power is different, therefore the zanpaktou spirits don't act the same way." Toshiro added on. "They may seem like zanpaktou in every way, but at their core they are simply your instincts manifested, not true zanpaktou spirits. They'll probably look very similar to the way you do as well with slight variations." He turned to Karin. "But back to what Kurosaki said, your current level isn't strong enough to fight with Arrancars or even Menos. If a Hollow of that level attacked I wouldn't even let them," He pointed to Cid, Barrett and Yuffie, "get into the fight."

"Hey, you can't tell us if we can fight or not." Barrett argued, getting to his feet.

"I can if it means saving your life." Toshiro snapped back. "It's getting late, Karin, you should probably go home."

The fact that he used her first name was not lost on the Gaians. They knew it wasn't because there were two Kurosaki siblings, because he still called Ichigo that.

"You didn't answer my question." The teen crossed her arms.

"Obviously I can't, considering I have quite a bit in my schedule at the moment." Toshiro gestured to the crowded Gaians.

"They could help me keep the Hollows out." Ichigo offered and Toshiro glared, knowing full well what he was trying to do.

"It would be a good chance to get some experience fighting Hollows." Cloud offered as well, though he didn't understand why Toshiro turned to glare at him.

"Fine!" Toshiro gave up and dropped his head onto the desk. "But Kisaragi, Highwind and Wallace have to stay here for training. The rest of you can go with Kurosaki."

At her desk, having been silent the whole time, Rangiku giggled. She knew Toshiro wanted to play with Karin but was worried about his work. She and various other Soul Reapers were working towards getting him free time to visit the black haired Kurosaki. Then there was Sephiroth; that was surely causing him stress and a good soccer game with Karin would ease some of that while she actually pulled herself up and did some paperwork for him. It wasn't going to be easy, but getting her Captain a date was worth it. She silently thanked the Gaians for their oblivious assistance.

Tomorrow was going to be interesting indeed.

* * *

**Sorry, kinda short. Where did all my reviewers go? :( I know it's kinda boring right now but there will be action soon, I promise! I'm trying to get to the part where Vincent trains to get his first Hollow power with Galion Beast and the last of the Gaians will be getting their zanpaktous soon. I'm also thinking of getting Ichigo's dad in there for a little humor...hehe...**

**Please enjoy and review!**


	19. 18) No Competition

Watching the Gaians get into the Gigais Urahara had made was interesting indeed, as the former were all quite disturbed about seeing an exact copy of themselves lying dead before them. Vincent had to wait until they arrived in the World of the Living to return to his body. Karin and Toshiro went on ahead since the soccer match was starting soon so it was Ichigo awaiting them.

"I've never had to use a Gigai so I don't know if it will be uncomfortable or not." The Substitute said as the Gaians continued to stare with a sort of horrified fascination at their bodies. "…But you won't really know if you don't get in the damn thing."

"Your Soul Candies." The Twelfth Squad Lieutenant, Nemu Kurotsuchi, approached them with an armful of candy dispensers, the artificial souls inside specially designed by the Department of Research and Development to be as alike to the Gaians personalities as possible.

"I still feel uncomfortable doing this." Kadaj grabbed his and stared at his Gigai again. "Besides, if we're watching for Hollows, why do we need Gigais?"

"Toshiro decided it would be good to have you guys field train in the World of the Living for a while. The other three can join in after they get their zanpaktou." Ichigo explained. "That means you'll need a Gigai to hang around…and a place to stay. Kisuke can give you a place but he usually makes you work for it, just ask Renji."

"That has already been taken care of." Nemu butted in. "An apartment was rented out by Captain Kuchiki with help from Urahara big enough to accommodate them. Urahara is willing to pay rent as long as they continue his training and work to exterminate Hollows."

"Well, you got off lucky this time." Ichigo said, standing from his seat on the floor and waiting as Tifa finally toughened up and slipped into her Gigai, which, like the others, had on their same clothes from when they first arrived. After some hesitation, the other four soon followed.

"Kind of itches." Red growled, scratching the back of his neck as well as he could.

"So all we do is swallow these and we're back to being spirits?" Kadaj held the Soul Candy dispenser at eye level to look at closely.

"Pretty much." Ichigo replied.

"Remember not to ever remove your ECB's." Nemu reminded. When she saw them look at her strangely, she quickly explained, "ECB is short for Energy Changing Bracelet, the silver bands on your wrist. If removed at any time you will be unable to revert back to Lifeforce. The only safe time to remove them is when you have returned to your natural energy, as remaining permanently bound to Spiritual Pressure may cause severe health problems later."

"Yeah, Urahara said it's okay to change back to Lifeforce every now and then. It won't set you back any, though he said your zanpaktou spirits won't like it, since they technically vanish during that time." Kurosaki added in. "Well, let's get going. Hollows don't exterminate themselves and if Toshiro has to leave the game to kill them Karin will blame me for not doing my job."

With that, the six Gaians followed behind the orange haired teen and to the Senkaimon.

Already in the World of the Living in a Gigai of his own, Toshiro stood with Karin at the field, waiting for the others.

"Thanks for helping out, Toshiro." Karin said to him, grinning.

"Well seeing as you wouldn't give up until I did come I didn't have much of a choice." Toshiro replied indifferently. "Your brother wasn't any help either."

"Okay, snowman." Karin said, punching him rather roughly in the arm. He rubbed the spot; Gigais were so weak sometimes.

"Stop calling me that." He grumbled.

She smirked at him before spotting her friends running down the road towards them.

"There they are, about time."

Toshiro rolled his eyes at her, hoping that, with him there, the match would be quick. He had paperwork to do and a Nightmare to catch. As the four boys arrived, spotting Toshiro and grinning, Karin nags them for being late.

"Well, at least you managed to actually have a team." An older voice sneered.

Toshiro immediately didn't like that voice and turned to see the six high school boys. The one who had spoken glared down at the shorter boy with a glint of malice and superiority. The Soul Reaper glared back.

"Jeez, so desperate for an extra player you grab an elementary student?" The boy sneered.

A cold wind blew by and Karin avoided glancing at Toshiro. He kept his face passive, avoiding any arguments with the pompous human.

"You'll see, just wait." Karin smirked back. "He's a lot better than all six of you combined."

"Let's just get this over with." Toshiro sighed, walking onto the field. Karin and the others were quick to join him.

"Okay Kazuya, you're goalie." Karin said to the brown haired boy with glasses. He nodded and ran to his spot. "Toshiro, you and I are on offense just like the last time we played." The white haired Captain nodded. "Heita and Ryohei are on defense, Kei will jump in when someone needs to switch out."

The boys gave their varying agreements and they spread back out. Ryohei, the boy with long blonde hair slicked over shorter black hair noticed Toshiro glare at one of the high school boys before taking up a position to get the ball when Karin kicked. He smirked and pointed this out to Heita, the black haired, serious faced boy with him.

"With Toshiro here, this game is as good as won." Heita replied, grinning widely.

The high school boys, unaware of the Soul Reaper in their opponents midst, had high confidence and were perfectly fine with Karin and the other middle school kids kicking off first. They assumed it would be easy to get the ball, especially with an 'elementary' kid with them. Though, they did feel rather uncomfortable under his teal glare.

The ball went straight to the icy Captain and with quick movements around the tall teens, Toshiro quickly kicked it in the goal. The goalie was startled by this, not thinking he would need to block so soon.

"He's…fast." One of the high school boys muttered, still processing their loss.

Stepping it up a notch, the high schoolers attempted to turn it back around, but the one they had thought would be the weakest turned out to be extremely hard to get past. Even when Karin purposely put him on defense to give the boys somewhat of a chance, the white haired boy refused to let them slip by.

By this time the Gaians had arrived, splitting up and stationing themselves in different parts of the town to watch for Hollows. The one in the area where Toshiro and Karin played was the Remnant Kadaj. He watched the game with interest, not having seen anything like it before. Soccer was foreign to Gaia, and it looked fun to play. The humans with Hitsugaya seemed to be having fun, and even when they were hurt by a fall, Karin stood them back up, dusted them off, and got them back in the game.

Kadaj noticed that their opponents were getting frustrated and seemed to be planning something. He knew the look in their eyes well, having had it himself quite a few times during his killing spree days. Emerald eyes watched them closely.

Moving around one of the taller boys, Karin prepared a big kick for the goal that would give them a score twice as big as their opponents, when one of them darted in and knocked the ball away from her, tripping her up as well due to her unbalanced position. As she fell her ankle twisted and she bit her lip to bite back a yelp.

'_Just like before._' She growled and attempted to stand.

"Time out!" She heard Toshiro shout before he was at her side and helping her stand. "Why is it when I'm here you get hurt?"

"Must be the universe punishing me for cheating." Karin replied and Toshiro raised an eyebrow at her jest.

He helped her over to the side where her four friends came running to see if she was okay.

"Damn." She scowled. "This time I can't keep going or I could break it."

"The game is almost over." Kei, the boy with an afro, assured her. "We'll just finish 'em!"

"It shouldn't take long." Toshiro added.

"Man, if you hadn't come, we'd be ruined." Ryohei said to the Captain. "Karin's our best player, so without her we'd be finished."

"Hey!" The leader of the high school team shouted out. "Are you forfeiting or something?!"

"You wish!" Karin snapped back. "I may be out but we're not finished yet!" She turned to the others. "Show 'em Hell guys."

"Got it!" Heita nodded and ran back out, Ryohei, Kazuya and Kei following quickly.

"Don't let us lose, Toshiro." Karin said to the Soul Reaper.

"Why else did I come here?" He replied with an almost invisible smile before turning away and getting back on the field.

At his spot on the edge of the road, Kadaj saw the high school boys staring Hitsugaya down and knew they were going to hit him next. Once they were down to only the four boys the odds were against them. Then again, this was Toshiro, and Kadaj doubted they would manage a trip up with him; not a successful one anyway.

The Remnant glanced at the Soul Candy dispenser in his hand, wondering if any Hollows would even bother to show up, before returning his attention to the game. They had started again, Toshiro leading the way for another goal. As expected, the high school boys were attempting to trap him in, but with agile movements he instead had them tripping over each other. The goalie was a little more attentive, and managed to block the goal but only by the tips of his fingers. The younger boys still had double the score.

'_At least it's almost over._' The Captain mused. '_Even if they got past me we're still ahead by ten, they don't have the time to make up that score._'

His eyes shifted to the wielder of the ball, which was a high schooler of course. He rushed over, preparing to steal it and keep it away. He wasn't concerned with goals at the moment, just getting the game over with so Karin's team would win.

A pressure in the air alerted him to a Hollow appearing in the nearby area. Pausing for the briefest moment to figure out exactly where it was and who was close by, his original target was able to slip by and even pushed him over, snickering as the tiny Captain fell hard. The boy scowled and stood, but the teen had already rushed by and scored.

Karin wanted to shout at him, she did, but she knew why he had paused, as it had caused her to look away as well. She saw a flash of silver and realized Kadaj had been close by, the Remnant rushing towards the Hollow, far more interested in a fight than the game.

"Don't worry about it!" Karin shouted to Toshiro, meaning the Hollow. "We're still in!"

Understanding the hidden meaning, Hitsugaya nodded and put his focus back on the match. The Gaians were there for a reason, they wouldn't learn a thing if he didn't give them a chance to fight, and Ichigo was there as well to assist in his place. Not to mention Karin would be furious if he left.

The Hollow had appeared under the bridge and looked like a giant barracuda, the bone like mask full of razor sharp ivory teeth and bright golden eyes. Its slimy brown body flitted through the water, heading towards a terrified spirit belonging to a middle-aged man. The beast lifted itself out of the water, revealing small legs down its body like that of a centipede, jaws opening to snap up its target.

"Not today!" Kadaj sneered, landing a rough kick to the creature's head and sending it crashing to the ground. Ichigo arrived and stood in front of the frightened soul, watching the Remnant as he unsheathed his blade and lashed out.

Roaring, the Hollow slid out of the way of the blade and back into the water, vanishing underneath its gray surface. The mud stirred up from its movements let it blend in perfectly.

'_**That won't protect it.**_' Mordofea laughed sinisterly. '_**Use the shadows to spear it.**_'

'_How?_'

'_**I can turn into anything with a blade, use your imagination!**_'

Kadaj grinned, watching the water shift as the Hollow shifted its position for an attack. He liked his new blade.

"Devour, Mordofea." He whispered to the katana, watching it turn black and morph into his more familiar twin-bladed katana.

The water twitched, the Hollow beneath sensing the rise in power. It was reconsidering its food.

"_Shadow Shift: Trident Blade._" The dark blade twisted in his hand, becoming long with a three-pronged end, the sharp ends bright silver.

Deciding the risk was too high, the aquarian Hollow twisted around and sped off, stirring the water above it. Catching this shift, Kadaj hefted the trident high and threw it at the retreating beast. There was a gargling screech as the black weapon vanished halfway into the water and the water turned red before the blood blackened and vanished along with the Hollow.

"Nice!" Ichigo grinned, giving the Remnant a thumb up. "Might want to grab your zanpaktou though."

"No need." Kadaj smirked, holding his hand out in Mordofea's direction. The Trident turned into black smoke and raced towards his master's hand, forming back into a solid form once in his hand.

"That's convenient." The Substitute mused aloud, then turned to the soul behind him, performing the Soul Burial before another Hollow came for him. "Well, guess we're good here. I'll go see the others."

Once the teen had vanished with Flash Step, Kadaj sealed his zanpaktou and began walking back to the soccer field, wondering if the match was over. For his first fight against a Hollow, it wasn't all that hard.

The match was very nearly over, with only one play left. After his slip up due to the Hollow's appearance, Toshiro went on the offensive and scored another two, giving them double the score again to the high school boys' dismay. The white haired child was just too fast for them to beat, and when the game was over, they fell to the ground and surrendered.

"Alright!" Karin shouted, jumping up before remembering her sprained ankle and promptly falling back on her butt, gripping tightly to the offending spot but keeping a smile on her face. The high school boys had been causing her problems when she tried to play soccer at school with her friends and she was glad to have shown them up, even if Toshiro did most of the work. Perhaps it was good that it was him, since they believed he was still an elementary school student.

While the older teens walked away, shoulders slumped, Karin's friends and the Ice Captain joined said girl's side. The four boys cheered while Toshiro just rolled his eyes. It was one game, and though it was obvious they loved it, they were being a bit over dramatic in his opinion.

"Let's get you home so your dad can look at that." Toshiro said, bringing attention back to the fact that Karin was injured.

"Oh, right!" Ryohei seemed ashamed at having forgotten that. "Here, I'll help you up."

"Nah, you guys get home. Toshiro will help me." Karin waved them off

"O-okay. Thanks again, Toshiro." On Ryohei's word, the four boys left.

Sighing, Toshiro instead knelt down next to the girl and began applying Healing Kido. It was weaker while in a Gigai, but for a sprain it would suffice.

"Good thing it was just a sprain or they'll wonder why I healed so fast." Karin commented while the Captain worked.

"Welcome to your brother's world." Toshiro replied sarcastically. "Ishida made up most of his excuses though."

"At home it would be Rukia who made the excuses and dad bought it. Well, we thought he did anyway. Turns out he was playing along."

Finished with the healing, Toshiro stood and then helped the Kurosaki sister up as well.

"How long do you plan on hiding there?" The Captain called out suddenly, startling Karin.

"Huh?" She reached out for whatever it was her friend was sensing. "Oh! That guy is still here."

"I have a name." Kadaj grumbled, revealing his position of leaning against the tree. The Artificial Soul in his Gigai sat cross-legged next to him, seemingly focused on the sky and not paying any attention.

"Get back in your Gigai, Kadaj." Toshiro ordered. "It makes it difficult to talk when there are two of you."

Scowling at the order, Kadaj removed the pill and stepped into the Gigai, stretching out his limbs once he was in.

"I hate this thing." He grumbled.

"We all do, but it's necessary." Hitsugaya walked over to the Remnant, Karin following closely to see the new Substitute better.

"I forgot to ask; are you guys related?" The teen questioned, watching them both tense and glare. "I mean, you sound the same, and…" Kadaj seemed to relax and smirk, hiding a laugh, while Toshiro's glare intensified. "I guess not."

"This one is from Gaia, so there's no possible way to be related to him." Toshiro replied stiffly.

"Like I'd want to be related to a shrimp." Kadaj grinned mischievously. He laughed when the Ice Captain scowled fiercely at him.

"Look, the game is over and I have work to do." Toshiro pinched the bridge of his nose and calmed himself down. "I'll be heading over to Urahara's and returning to the Soul Society for now. I'll return when I make some progress in my paperwork."

"I thought you were supposed to be some kind of guardian for us Gaians." The Remnant knew he was pushing it but it was too fun to stop.

"There are exceptions….Look, Kurosaki is the representative for this town, so technically you're under his watch while in Karakura Town and I said I'd be back later. Go…fight another Hollow or something."

Not wanting to be in Kadaj's presence much longer lest the Remnant tease him more, Toshiro started walking away, ignoring Karin's silent protest against it.

"Hmph." Karin crossed her arms, turning to Kadaj. "Now you've done it, he was actually in a good mood a minute ago."

"He needs a sense of humor." Kadaj replied sharply.

"…Can't argue that, but he's always really uptight anyway. I gotta get home before my old man berates me for being late. See ya!" Leaving the silverette on his own, Karin started running off towards her home.

Now alone, the smirk on Kadaj's face vanished, revealing a rather thoughtful expression.

"Toshiro knows who I am…but he never says anything about it." He mused aloud. "And that girl wasn't afraid of me in the slightest. Even when she first saw me she didn't think anything of it."

Thinking about everything that had happened since he arrived, Kadaj decided he liked Karakura Town and the Soul Society way better than Gaia. No one except the Soul Reapers here knew who he was, while on Gaia they would be after his head.

Yes, he definitely liked this world better.

"There you are." A silky voice hissed and Kadaj's vision went black.

* * *

**Here's the game as well as Kadaj's first Hollow fight! AH, but what happened to him at the end? Hehe, cliffhanger XD**

**So, getting towards the part where conflict starts showing up, if the end wasn't obvious enough, and Ichigo's dad will make an appearance at some point. ^^ Enjoy!**


	20. 19) Shadow of a Nightmare

Toshiro had just entered Kisuke's shop, the sky outside turning dark, when he felt Kadaj's Spiritual Pressure rise rather sharply before dropping to near nonexistence.

"That's not good." Toshiro scowled.

Swallowing the pill and ordering the Artificial Soul to remain put, the Captain sped off towards where Kadaj had last been, hoping he was still there and was maybe just having trouble with a Hollow. But with how quickly the rise and drop had been, Toshiro knew in the back of his mind that this wasn't an ordinary Hollow.

'_There are still a few Arrancars left from the war with Aizen, could it be one of them?_' He mused. '_No, I would have sensed them._'

Arriving at the scene he saw Ichigo, Vincent and Cloud already there, the latter two having been close by when they felt a strange pressure and came to investigate. Kadaj seemed to be unconscious, but due to the lack of any Spirit Energy the two Soul Reapers feared the worst.

"What happened?" He demanded.

"Not sure." Ichigo said, a frown on his face as he bent down next to the Remnant but did not touch him; Hichigo demanded he refrain from touching, though why the Hollow couldn't clearly explain. "He's not dead, but I have no idea what's wrong."

Toshiro knelt next to Kadaj as well, reaching a hand out to attempt Healing Kido. His hand was snatched away by Vincent.

"Don't touch him." He warned and Ichigo nodded.

"Why?"

"Chaos and the others are very sure we shouldn't touch him." Vincent explained. "They say something isn't right."

"Hichigo is too." Ichigo seemed startled by Vincent's words. "Wonder why the Hollows can sense something wrong."

"Morinauro is against it too, though he's not as adamant." Cloud agreed. "At this rate we won't be able to figure out what's wrong."

'_**Master, let me try entering his Inner World. I've had practice.**_' Hyorinmaru spoke up.

'_What? When?_'

'_**When others were close by I attempted it silently. I managed to speak with Haineko and Tobiume to a small degree, and I managed to hear Mordofea as well.**_'

'_It's worth a shot, since I apparently can't touch him._' He glanced at the others. "I'm going to try something, no guarantee it will work though."

The other three looked at him with confused or worried expressions but he ignored them and unsheathed his long zanpaktou. He stabbed the blade into the ground between him and Kadaj before sitting as though he was going to speak to Hyorinmaru in his Inner World. With his master focused, Hyorinmaru reached out to the dark zanpaktou within the Remnant.

Toshiro held back a gasp as Mordofea quite literally pulled them into his Inner World, concern and fear coming off the shadow spirit in waves. He wanted their help and he wanted it now.

Opening his eyes, Toshiro found himself in a large forest with trees that glowed bright white. The Ancient Forest on Gaia. However, something was off about it. Dark shadows clinged to the trees, attempting to consume them.

"Something's trying to consume him." Toshiro looked around, registering his zanpaktou's presence behind him. The giant ice dragon growled when the dark tendrils approached. "We need to find his center, that's where he'll be hiding."

Climbing onto his dragon's back, Toshiro held tight as Hyorinmaru lifted above the trees and glided around. The forest seemed to go on for miles.

A shadowed creature appeared before them, emerald eyes catching their attention with an expression of desperation.

"Mordofea." Toshiro whispered, watching as the shadow flitted about before launching off in the direction to their right. "Follow him, he's trying to help us."

The shadow led them towards a dome of black energy that held back the invasive shadows but only just. Occasionally, some would leak through and the dome shimmered, failing.

"**He's in there.**" Mordofea said, manifesting himself next to Toshiro. The spirit was fairly humanoid and similar to Kadaj, but his hair was black and seemed to have shadows flowing off the tips, silver cat ears flat back in anger. There was a long silver tail with a black tuft of fur on the end thrashing behind him, and the spirit's pale hands ended in claws. While remaining barefoot, Mordofea's attire seemed faintly samurai styled, though with black, shadowy leather instead of the normal robes and no armor save for silver shoulder guards.

"Will he let us in?" Toshiro questioned the feline spirit.

"**I'll let you in.**" He replied, glancing at them with slitted emerald eyes. "**But this is a one-time thing, **_**Soul Reaper**_**. Only because **_**that man**_** is here.**"

"**That man?**" Hyorinmaru's voice rumbled.

"**You don't have much time in here, follow me.**"

Morphing back into shadows, Mordofea rocketed towards the barrier, Hyorinmaru close behind. Once the spirit hit the barrier, he opened a hole just big enough to allow the dragon and his master in before he shut it tight behind him, closing off the shadows.

The sight before them shocked Toshiro immensely.

Though rather translucent, a tall man with silver hair past his waist and a thick black leather cape around his frame held tightly to the Remnant by his throat. Sinister green eyes glanced at the newcomers, eyes widening. Due to the similarities between this new man and Kadaj, Toshiro could only assume it was one person.

"Sephiroth." He breathed, scowling. How had they not sensed him?

"Ice Captain." Sephiroth frowned, dropping his tired Remnant to the ground. Mordofea took his chance and spirited his master to the barrier's edge, hissing at the Nightmare invading their world. "You really do look like one of my Remnants."

Snarling, Hyorinmaru launched himself at the silverette invader, icy teeth snapping open to take his target out in one bite. Of course, Sephiroth would have none of that, lifting a sword longer than he was tall over his head and fending off the sharp fangs with one swipe. Since this was not his Inner World, Hyorinmaru had very little power. Creating the blade form of Hyorinmaru in his hand, Toshiro leaped off the dragon's back and met the Nightmare's blade with a loud clang of metal.

"How did you get in here?" The tall man questioned, still frowning.

"I could ask you the same thing." Toshiro growled back. "How did you find him in the first place?"

"Kadaj is my Remnant." At this Sephiroth smirked. "Therefore, his power is my power."

Teal eyes widening, Toshiro understood why Sephiroth was there. With the Remnant gaining the powers of a Soul Reaper, by possessing the boy like he once did before, Sephiroth would have them too. Though, by the looks of Mordofea's hostility, it was a one way relationship. That meant Sephiroth wouldn't be able to release the feline spirit's full potential. At least one thing was good about this.

"This boy was brought back by Aerith to aid us in stopping you." Toshiro said, putting some pressure on where their blades met; it was rather difficult with the man being so damn tall. "As such he is now under my protection."

"What happens if I take control?" The Nightmare's smile became strained, not liking how the tiny Captain was managing to hold his own against his strength.

"I'll kill the both of you."

"So much for protecting him."

"It may be my duty to protect the Gaians, but my first priority remains with the Soul Society. If a Gaian threatens my world I will fight back." Teal eyes hardened. "Hyorinmaru!"

Now it was Sephiroth whose eyes widened as Toshiro Flash Stepped away. He whipped around only to see an icy tail crash into him and send him flying into the barrier. Though his pride stung, Sephiroth knew he hadn't gathered enough of his strength back to take on the Weapon, not with Kadaj fighting back against his darkness the way he was.

With a knowing smirk, Sephiroth relented in his attack and vanished from Kadaj's mind.

Outside in the real world, the three figures standing around Kadaj and Toshiro started when darkness seeped off of the former and retreated into the shadows. Cloud and Vincent recognized the feeling of it and they scowled, the former even growling somewhat at the thought that his nemesis had escaped.

His job done, Toshiro and Hyorinmaru retreated as well, teal eyes snapping open in time to see Kadaj stir from his forced slumber.

"Dammit I hate him." Kadaj spat, sitting up, albeit rather painfully.

"What did you do?" Cloud turned suspiciously to Toshiro.

"It's a skill Hyorinmaru and I found only recently." Toshiro explained, standing and replacing said zanpaktou in its sheath. "Since Hyorinmaru isn't an ordinary zanpaktou, we seem to be capable of going into the Inner World of others, but only if we're both concentrating."

"Seriously?!" Ichigo gaped. "That's pretty neat!"

"It seems to be easier with the Gaians. I'm guessing it's because Hyorinmaru is also from Gaia."

"I don't care what it is or how you did it." Kadaj grunted, managing to stand with a little, though somewhat reluctant, help from Cloud. "All I care is that you stopped the bastard."

"What did he want?" The swordsman questioned.

"Tried to take my Soul Reaper powers." Kadaj replied.

"Shit…that's bad, right?" Ichigo stood from his kneeling position, worry in his eyes.

"Very." Toshiro responded. "And the way he left without a fight…We best be on our guard."

The three nodded, faces determined.

"I don't know what he'll do next, but it's safe to say Kadaj is going to be his target for a while to try and steal his Soul Reaper powers. It's best you return to Soul Society."

"Wasn't Sephiroth there at first?" Ichigo interrupted the Captain. "How did he even get here?"

For that, Toshiro had no answer, and it showed in the way he narrowed his eyes in thought and grasped for ideas.

"He may have gotten through during one of the times that the Senkaimon was open. With no Spiritual Pressure and in this shadow form of his, his presence wouldn't activate the Restrictive Current and he could get through safely."

"Wouldn't someone still have sensed him? His Lifeforce?" Cloud argued.

"It could have been a Soul Reaper who didn't know about him or even before Urahara arrived for your training. There were two times before that when the Senkaimon was opened for a patrol into the World of the Living." Toshiro explained. "Whatever it was, he's here now, and that means we need to keep Kadaj away before this happens again."

Though disappointed about having to leave, Kadaj knew he had no choice but to go back. With Sephiroth's current goal being his new powers, he knew he wasn't safe. Training against Hollows would have to wait until Sephiroth found a different method that didn't involve possession, though that was unlikely and unwanted.

"I leave you and the others with Kurosaki for now." Toshiro said, before turning to the Remnant. "I'll bring you back to the Soul Society before I go back to my original plan of getting some paperwork done and coming back."

The Ice Captain was about to leave before he remembered something and turned back to Ichigo and Vincent.

"Why were the two of you so adamant about not touching him in that state?" He questioned.

"Dunno, Hichigo was just against it and said something weird would happen if I did." Ichigo shrugged. "He still doesn't really know, apparently."

"He was right to worry." Vincent added on. "It makes sense he wouldn't know why."

"What are you talking about?" Toshiro's eyebrow rose slightly.

"Kadaj's body does still harbor Jenova Cells." The gunman saw Toshiro's eyes light up in understanding and saw Kadaj scowl fiercely. "Sephiroth would have spread them to any of us had we touched him. You'll be safe, Hitsugaya, since you weren't in physical contact with him."

"Now I REALLY hate him." Kadaj snarled, fists tight and emerald eyes slitted in rage. "I'm not his damn puppet anymore!"

"And we intend to keep it that way, calm down." Hitsugaya snapped, having noticed the shadows stirring around Kadaj's frame as the Remnant's Spiritual Pressure rose.

Growling at the Ice Captain, Kadaj promptly turned and left.

"Oi!" Toshiro Flash Stepped to stand in front of the fuming Remnant. "You're going back with me to the Soul Society, remember?"

"Fine, then let's go!" Was the venom laced reply. The temperature dropped.

"Control that temper." Hitsugaya warned. "If you let that man get the better of you now he's already won. Calm down and think things through before you go stomping off, especially since you're a target right now. I won't have you endangering the lives of thousands for a temper tantrum."

"Captain, he's got a good reason to be mad." Cloud argued, surprising Kadaj due to the man standing up for him. "It's hard not to hate Sephiroth."

"I said nothing about not hating the Nightmare." Toshiro countered, turning from the blonde to Kadaj again. "All I said was that you letting your emotions control you like this will end in your downfall. Sephiroth will take his chance to cut you down the minute you let him, and your actions right now would have given him that."

"And what would you know?" Kadaj growled back. "You've never been used by him and left for dead!"

"But I have been tricked!" Toshiro snapped back. Cold and shadow began to mix between them, causing a black wind to rise. "I can say this to you because I have experienced it myself. The last time I let my anger control me I nearly lost my life."

Ichigo turned away, remembering the terrible wound Toshiro had received during the Winter War. Thanks to the combined efforts of Retsu and Orihime, the tiny Captain was able to keep his left arm, but he still had the scar to show for it. Vincent also remembered that scar and what he'd been told by Nero the Sable when the dark Tsviet had trapped Toshiro in nightmares of his past.

The black wind calmed as both sides began to straighten themselves out. Kadaj had caught the brief flash of pain in the white haired Soul Reaper's eyes and didn't want to argue anymore, not with someone who, as Aerith said, had gone through more pain than any child should ever experience. Sure, his own life sucked, but the Remnant knew he wasn't the only one suffering.

And Toshiro did technically just save his ass from Sephiroth.

"…Alright…Let's go." Kadaj said, his voice quiet now.

Satisfied, Toshiro nodded and unsheathed Hyorinmaru to open the Senkaimon back to the Soul Society. Once open, Captain and Remnant stepped through, leaving Cloud and Vincent with the Substitute.

"Alright then, let's go back to business." Ichigo said loudly, brushing off what had just happened as an everyday thing. "Toshiro's got that handled so I guess I get to pick up the slack here for a while."

The two Gaians shared a glance but followed the teen to the rented apartment complex to rest for the night. The others were all there except Shelke and Red, who were taking the first night watch with Ichigo. They would switch with Vincent, Cloud and Rukia, who had met them briefly upon their arrival, sometime later. They all hoped it was an uneventful night.

* * *

**So, Kadaj is safe, everyone needn't worry now. But, it is a bad thing that Sephiroth can do that. What will the Soul Reapers do? Why did Sephiroth leave so quickly? Read on! Enjoy!**


	21. 20) Zanpaktous and Stolen Hollows

Turning back the clock to the morning, when the Gaians were heading to the Department of Research and Development for their Gigais and Toshiro had already gone through the gate, focus shifts to the final three Gaians yet to gain their Shikai. Across from them stood their opponents.

"I'm not going any easier than before." Soi Fon warned Yuffie. "You need to improve a lot faster."

"Ooh, you piss me off." Yuffie scowled at the assassin.

Cid glared at Ikkaku, arms crossed, as the bald Soul Reaper simply grinned.

"Since you've lasted so long against me without a weapon, I'm eager to see your fighting skills with one." Ikkaku said, twirling the Shikai form of Hozukimaru, a long spear with red fur at the butt end, in his hand. "Squad Eleven is the strongest squad and we never go anywhere without our zanpaktou, ready for a fight at any time."

"Like I care." Cid scoffed, making Ikkaku frown. "I'll get it this time and we'll see who's better with a spear."

Last but not least, Barrett faced Marechiyo. The obese Lieutenant had surprised the gun-armed man with speed worthy of his squad and some form of strategic thinking, though most of the time it was used to get out of a tough situation instead of hitting Barrett.

"I'm gonna get my sword today, you just wait." Barrett smirked, pointing at Marechiyo with a determined air.

"I may not look like much but I AM a member of the Stealth Force." Marechiyo replied with a smirk of his own. "So don't think you can beat me without a zanpaktou, or even with one."

From afar, sitting with the spectators, Kisuke looked at each of them in turn. With Rangiku's help, Tifa had managed to teach them Blade Zen and he hoped it worked. Especially since the Lieutenant got in trouble with Hitsugaya for not doing her paperwork, though he was lenient since she was helping the Gaians.

He blew the whistle and the Soul Reapers darted forward. Seeing as it was the third day, they were treating this like an actual battle to try and force the zanpaktou within the Gaians to cooperate. Yuffie dodged as best she could, but eventually Soi Fon had marked her with Suzumebachi and the ninja was bleeding from a gash on her left arm. Cid wasn't as spry as he used to be but he tried, managing to avoid the worst of Ikkaku's quick strikes and powerful blows. Barrett used brute force against brute force until Marechiyo's superior strength as a Soul Reaper outdid him and sent him on the defensive with a massive bruise on his leg.

'_**You really are useless.**_' Something giggled in Yuffie's head, though it was a little faint.

'_There you are! Help me out, will ya? She hits me in the same spot I'm doomed!_' Yuffie said as she twisted around one of Soi Fon's blows and countered with a kick. The assassin blocked, grabbed her ankle, and tossed her a few feet. Apparently ninjas couldn't beat assassins, not undead ones with hundreds of years practice anyway.

'_**Maybe…well, I guess I can't let you die.**_' The voice mused.

'_Exactly! Now come on!_' Dodging a close hit and earning another pattern, Yuffie pleaded her zanpaktou for help.

Alarmed at the rate Yuffie was tiring and the fact that her opponent wouldn't let up, the zanpaktou spirit agreed, deciding now was not the time for debates or theatrics. Though starting out a little fuzzy, the name soon came through and Yuffie flipped away from her opponent to avoid yet another mark and held position.

"Fly, Silivrenmeril!" Yuffie shouted out, her yellow colored energy beginning to shoot off her body. Soi Fon moved back to move away from the wild release of energy.

The ninja's Shikai formed into that of a large Shuriken, just like she normally used, only this four bladed shuriken was white with intricate golden patterns on the edges and a hole in the middle to spin with. The blades curved outward, giving a scythe-like appearance, and the parts that attached it to the center had razor sharp points running down it.

"Ooh, pretty." Yuffie admired her new blade, sensing her zanpaktou spirit puff up with pride and glow a little brighter.

"Training's over then." Soi Fon sealed her zanpaktou once more and started walking away, the black butterflies on Yuffie's body vanishing.

"Hey! I haven't paid you back yet for…the fight…" Starting to feel a little faint as she ran after the assassin, Yuffie tripped over her own feet and fell to the ground, quickly going unconscious.

"…Some ninja you are." Sighing heavily, the Squad Two Captain picked up the petite Gaian and Flash Stepped over to the edge where Retsu waited so the healer could help her.

Two Gaians left. Both men could hear the voices, but we're too busy trying not to get killed to hear names. Barrett's spirit was spouting off about simply shooting up the fat Soul Reaper, which the black man said he couldn't do, and Cid's was badgering him about every little thing. They were irritated, and that was an understatement.

Finally, Barrett managed to get his spirit to stop threatening the Soul Reaper.

'_Okay you, I need a name._' The black man demanded, dodging under the heavy and spiked black ball called Gegetsuburi. '_Then we can worry about beating the shit out of 'im._'

'_**Damn straight. Okay, listen closely…**_' The deeper voice of his zanpaktou replied.

Giving him a good distance between himself and Marechiyo, Barrett held his right arm up a little higher.

"Fire, Uryaenda!" He growled out as dark green energy swirled around the metallic arm. It powered it up, starting its transformation into a gun while also changing its shape. The silver arm became streaked with black lines that faded to bright blue at the firing end and it was shaped like a gattling gun, a compact barrel on top whose use was unknown.

"The hell is that?" Omaeda questioned, unfamiliar with guns.

In response, Barrett smirked and aimed his new weapon at the Lieutenant's feet and fired off a few rounds, the bullets encased in dark green Spirit Energy. Startled, Marechiyo yelped and jumped around to avoid getting his feet shot off before running away. Suddenly realizing his exhaustion after those shots, Barrett sat down and let his gun revert to its normal silvery arm form, dark green light seeping off to form a short katana at his side, the handle silver like his arm with no guard, though with an arm of metal Barrett didn't really need a guard.

"Woo, that was intense." Barrett let out a heavy breath of relief. "Now where's the Ice Captain?"

"In the World of the Living still." Retsu replied as she appeared next to him with Flash Step. "Let's get you off the field, shall we? Your Gigai is being prepared so you can join your friends in the World of the Living tomorrow morning."

The healing Captain led Barrett off the field as Cid fought with Ikkaku for his zanpaktou's name.

'_**Look at you, can't even dodge right!**_' The grouchy voice growled out.

'_Oh shut up! I don't have time for your shit!_' Cid snarled back.

'_**And I don't have time for yours!**_'

'_It's not like you're going anywhere!_'

'…**shut up!**'

They both went silent for a moment as Ikkaku's blade sliced through the air centimeters from Cid's neck with the only reason it missed being Cid's quick reaction to jump back.

'_A name would be nice, can't fight without a weapon._' Cid grumbled at his spirit.

'_**You make a point.**_' The spirit grumbled back, before saying his name loud and clear.

Ikkaku noticed the look in Cid's eyes and backed off in caution, just in time to see dark blue Spirit Energy curl off of the pilot's skin.

"About damn time." Ikkaku smirked, hoisting Hozukimaru over his shoulders as he waited.

Cid put his hand in the same position he always did when preparing to fight with his spear, the energy seeping off faster.

"Take the skies, Ramaloke!" He shouted out and a bright white light connected into a long weapon between his waiting hands before dimming down once more to reveal its form.

The spear's shaft was fiery red, the butt end golden with a spike and a black chain that curled up from the bottom, around the shaft and to the base of the blade itself. The blade was blood red with golden markings down the center and two short protrusions on each side like small spikes. A dark blue sphere of Spirit Energy separated the shaft and chain from the blade and was inset with gold. To the sides of this sphere were red dragon wings lined in gold.

"That's not all." Cid smirked as Ikkaku gaped at the beautiful spear.

He twirled the spear and held it with blade upwards in his right hand before flicking it to the side. The dragon wings shifted position over the blade and then tilted itself to the side, forming a red scythe blade lined in gold.

"Haha, I like this blade." Cid grinned widely, letting Ramaloke rest on his shoulder while Ikkaku shook away the surprise on his face and stomped over.

"So what, you're the last one." He grumbled. "Come on, you'll be as exhausted as the others and unfortunately I have orders not to fight you after you gain your Shikai."

"Eh, I can fight just fine!" Cid scowled, lifting Ramaloke and shifting him into spear form for an attack before finding his legs didn't want to work and using the spear for support. "Er…damn."

"What did I tell ya old man?" Ikkaku snapped. "Let's go already."

Practically dragging the pilot over, Ikkaku joined the small group where Yuffie and Barrett were and then left the pilot with the healers to return to his squad barracks.

"I suppose one of us should tell Hitsugaya." Soi Fon sighed aloud, glancing at Retsu.

"He planned on coming back later to do some paperwork before stationing himself in the World of the Living for a week or two; he already got permission from the Head Captain." Retsu replied as she knelt next to Cid. "We can tell him then. Besides, their Gigais aren't done and Lieutenant Kurotsuchi is still working on their Soul Candies."

Shrugging, the assassin left the healer to it and left, leaving only the healer with the three Gaians.

"So when do we get Bankai?" Yuffie asked Unohana. "I saw Toshiro's and it looked powerful."

"Captain Hitsugaya's Bankai is indeed very powerful, but all Bankais are. It's the full release of one's zanpaktou, a good five to ten times stronger than Shikai."

"Five to ten?" Barrett's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "He said stronger, I didn't think that much."

Retsu gave him a small smile.

"As for your question, Kisaragi." Retsu turned back to the ninja. "Training to achieve Bankai is far more rigorous than this. For the average Soul Reaper it takes years to learn the name of one's zanpaktou. After that they must train hard and communicate with their zanpaktou often to form a strong bond. Then the Soul Reaper must externalize their zanpaktou and train with it. A zanpaktou will test its master to the fullest to make sure they are worthy of Bankai. It can take decades to achieve this."

"Decades!? Are you crazy!?" Yuffie fell backwards to lie down and groaned loudly. "Just these three days were torture!"

"Kurosaki did manage to achieve his Bankai in three days, but that was through a very rigorous training set up by Urahara. It forcefully brought out his zanpaktou, Zangetsu, and put severe strain on both Kurosaki's body and spirit. Urahara told me that such a method will be too much for some of you Gaians."

"Not sure whether to thank him or pummel him." Yuffie said from her position on the floor.

"On another point," Unohana continued, ignoring the ninja, "You have to master your Shikai first. Since you've only just learned their names you won't be very well bonded with them, nor will you have a good grasp of their abilities. These things take time, unfortunately, and rushing it will be dangerous."

The boys nodded their heads in agreement while Yuffie just lifted her hand up in acknowledgement before returning it to the ground.

Retsu returned them to Toshiro's office, where Rangiku was, surprisingly, working, and told them to practice Blade Zen to become better acquainted with their zanpaktou. Rangiku helped them out all too willingly, before something seemed to click in her head and she did a few more packets of files before moving to help them again.

It was a few hours later that Toshiro entered his office, Kadaj in tow.

"Captain, is something wrong?" Rangiku asked, catching the attention of the three meditating – attempting to anyway – Gaians. She had caught onto the tense air between Ice Captain and Remnant.

"Sephiroth showed up." He stated simply, motioning for Kadaj to join the others while he moved over to his desk. He took a moment to asses Rangiku's noticeably smaller pile before working on his own.

"What?!" Yuffie, Cid and Rangiku shouted at once, snapping to their feet. Barrett stood up too, but his face was contorted with a fierce scowl.

"He tried to take my powers." Kadaj answered. "Thanks to Toshiro he failed."

"That's Captain Hitsugaya." Toshiro snapped on reflex before sighing heavily. "Yes, I managed to keep the Nightmare from taking Kadaj's powers for now, but something about HOW he left is making me uneasy. He gave up far too easily for the person you all made him out to be."

"Maybe he managed to take some of it?" Rangiku offered, eyes alight with worry. "For a Gaian, a little is all he would need to grow his own power against us."

"I'm not sure." Toshiro paused and closed his eyes, reaching out towards Kadaj with his Spiritual Pressure. As the room grew colder they assumed the Ice Captain was upset about something, but he was searching.

His eyes snapped open as he realized what it was.

"He did take part of it." His scowl rivaled Ichigo's natural one as he looked at Kadaj, the Remnant silently demanding an answer. "He took your Inner Hollow."

Hidden in the shadows of Karakura Town, a silver haired figure sat in silence, delving into the depths of his mind where a new spirit dwelt within. There he opened his eyes and found a strange creature standing before him, a black cat with silvery bone-like armor on its legs and down its spine. A feline shaped bone mask with long snout and saber fangs covered its face. Golden eyes stared at Sephiroth curiously through a veil of dangerously mixing Spiritual Pressure and Lifeforce.

"Greetings." Sephiroth smirked. "I can tell we'll get along splendidly."

The feline Hollow grinned wickedly and threw its head back to laugh.

"**I believe we will.**" It purred.

* * *

**So now all the Gaians have their Zanpaktou and we see what happens after Kadaj is taken back to the Soul Society. Question now is, how is Sephiroth going to use his Remnant's Inner Hollow if just getting near it could kill him? Guess we'll find out later, hehe. Enjoy!**

**Edit: I completely forget to put what the Zanpaktou names for these three were! So sorry!**

**Yuffie's: Silivrenmeril = White Star Rose**

**Barrett's: Uryaenda = Burning Heart**

**Cid's: Ramaloke = Dragon Wing**


	22. 21) Lessons Turned Brutal

Leaving Rangiku to finish paperwork and look after Kadaj, Toshiro led Cid, Barrett and Yuffie through the Senkaimon and into the World of the Living.

"Urahara will be there to greet us." He said over his shoulder to the Gaians behind him.

"So what are we supposed to do here?" Yuffie questioned, looking at her Soul Candy dispenser before slipping it into her short's pocket on her Gigai. Their soul forms were already in the Soul Reaper uniform.

"Train to use your Shikai better and to keep Hollows from consuming souls. You should be able to tell the difference between souls and humans, as souls will have a broken chain attached to their chest. As for Hollows…if you mistake a Hollow for anything else then we have a lot to talk about."

There was the hint of a threat in his last sentence and the Gaians all nodded. Vincent had told them about what had happened when he sparred with the Ice Captain and they didn't want a repeat with them.

They arrived in the same place Vincent had where Urahara and his two younger assistants awaited them.

"Ah, there you are. Your Gigai is waiting upstairs, Hitsugaya." Kisuke grinned behind his fan.

Toshiro nodded and used Flash Step to the shop portion of Kisuke's property, the Gaians now following behind said shop keeper as they walked towards the stairs. Behind him the Gaians turned their heads, mouths open, to gape at the enormous arena under Kisuke's shop. They had been told it was huge and that it was underground, but they hadn't expected this.

"For the duration of your stay this is where you'll be training." Kisuke grinned over his shoulder at them. "Get used to seeing it."

They climbed the ladder up and met with the rest of the Gaians waiting in the yard in front of Kisuke's place, Toshiro among them in a Gigai with Ichigo and Rukia.

"You guys all made it." Tifa greeted them with a smile.

"Yup, the whole gang is here." Cid replied.

"Kadaj isn't." Shelke corrected, pointedly ignoring the several warning glares sent her way.

"And for good reason." Toshiro added as he joined them. "Seeing as Sephiroth stole Kadaj's Inner Hollow already we have to be careful. He's still in the World of the Living somewhere."

"Stole his Inner Hollow?" Vincent looked at the child curiously. "That's possible?"

"Apparently for him. However, we do have some time. Unlike Kadaj, Sephiroth has no way of reverting to Spiritual Pressure and as such probably can't use any of that Hollow's powers. Until he finds a way to break down that barrier between him and the Inner Hollow we have time to train."

"Oh great." Yuffie groaned and Toshiro gave her a quick glare.

"I suggest you shape up." He snapped at her. "This isn't something you can slack on, Kisaragi. If Sephiroth attempts to do here what he has done on your world it could cause the destruction of all five realms of this world."

"Realms?" Barrett crossed his arms. "I don't remember you mentioning realms."

"There's this world, the World of the Living, Soul Society where we Soul Reapers live and the souls go, Hueco Mundo where the Hollows live, Hell where the sinners go, and the Soul King's realm."

"Oh, right, those places."

"My apologies for not being clear before. Back to the point, if either the World of the Living or Soul Society is destroyed by Sephiroth, the balance of souls will shift and cause the collapse of all the realms."

"What about the other realms?" Red questioned.

"If Hueco Mundo was destroyed the Hollows would most likely overpopulate the Soul Society or the World of the Living, also causing an imbalance." Rukia answered. "Hell is unlikely to fall due to its many levels, but if it were the miasma that keeps sinners weak would spread into the World of the Living, killing humans and causing an imbalance. As for the Soul King's realm…" She let Toshiro finish.

"The Soul King ties the realms together. If the Soul King dies the destruction of worlds is inevitable." He said gravely.

"Is there a way to get there?" Shelke asked.

"Only if allowed by the Royal Guard or the Soul King himself to enter, which is unlikely ever to happen. The Head Captain knows the location of a key that can take one there, but he would die before revealing the location of that key."

"Good, then Sephiroth can't get there." Tifa said and the Soul Reapers nodded in agreement. "Can he get to Hueco Mundo or Hell?"

"A Hollow would have to take Sephiroth there and the gates of Hell only open to drag sinners in and are deadly to the living, especially for someone with Lifeforce which, in a manner of speaking, could be the opposite of Hell's miasma."

"So we really only have to worry about the Soul Society and the World of the Living." Ichigo surmised. "If he went to Hueco Mundo it would be to make an army, not destroy it. Especially if he already took Kadaj's Hollow."

"Exactly." Toshiro nodded. "Now, on to the matter at hand. I'll be stationed here in Karakura Town to help train all of you while you're here for field training since you are under my jurisdiction."

"So you're our commanding officer while we're here?" Cloud asked and Toshiro nodded. "I guess that makes sense. What are we doing first?"

"If I remember right, Kadaj was the only one to kill a Hollow yesterday. But considering there were very few Hollows anyway added to the fact that you can't sense Spiritual Pressure yet it makes sense that you weren't able to find them. Sensing Spiritual Pressure is important to finding the enemy so that will be our secondary training objective, basic combat and bonding with your zanpaktou being the primary focus."

"Sounds like a full schedule." Red sighed.

"It will be, but this is normal for beginner Soul Reapers." Rukia smiled kindly at them. "Ichigo and I will help when we can and Captain Hitsugaya will be guiding you."

"I can show the basics but you need to develop a fighting style unique to your set of skills." Toshiro corrected. "Training with Shikai will be taught by your own zanpaktou, but if you need advice I'm willing to give it."

"It's more than we can ask for." Tifa replied, bowing her head slightly. Toshiro was glad she was learning their customs quickly, especially considering he was to be their Captain for quite a while.

"A'right, let's get started." Barrett exclaimed loudly, slapping his hands together in a loud clap that made Toshiro's brow twitch. "How do we find a Hollow?"

"By looks it's anything with a hole in its chest and a white mask." Toshiro replied with a glare, still irritated by the man's loudness. "As for sensing its Spiritual Pressure, allow Kurosaki to show you the difference."

"Eh?" Yuffie tilted her head.

"If a Soul Reaper is approaching, their Spiritual Pressure will have a quality like this." Toshiro ignored her and let his Spiritual Pressure rise. It was the familiar cold touch they always felt when he approached. "Recognizing individual Spiritual Pressures will take time. I'm only interested in having you recognize a Hollow's Spiritual Pressure. Kurosaki."

"Yeah yeah." Ichigo scowled and lifted his hand up to his forehead.

'_**Watch closely, Valentine.**_' Chaos spoke up in Vincent's mind. '_**This is how using the powers of your demons here will work.**_'

When Ichigo pulled his hand down a black energy with a red outline, similar to the Getsuga Tensho in Bankai, followed, bringing with it a white mask, a red line going down on each side of the face and over his eyes, which were now completely black with bright golden irises.

Then they felt his Spiritual Pressure. Now it was heavy and dark, a definite difference from the familiar feel of the Soul Reapers. It struck fear in them when they looked into his eyes and they felt like he was going to try and consume them at any moment. Red even let out an involuntary growl.

"Calm down guys." Ichigo said, voice echoing with a dangerous tone as he lifted his hand again and removed the mask. "I can control my Inner Hollow; it's nothing to worry about."

"They're experiencing the effect most Hollows have on souls." Toshiro explained. "Especially since your Hollow is the level of a Vasto Lorde."

"W-What's that?" Yuffie whimpered out, still trying to shake off the fear.

"There are different levels of Hollows." Rukia began to explain and pulled out a sketchbook. The Gaians noticed Toshiro's eyes light up in amusement while Ichigo frowned deeply at the small Lieutenant. They didn't quite understand until Rukia quickly drew something down before showing it to them. For a moment they thought it was a joke, what with the 'Hollows' being drawn as bears. However, seeing as Rukia's face remained expressionless, they realized she was serious. It didn't stop several zanpaktous from laughing wildly and Chaos found it rather hilarious as well.

"The most common ones are simple Hollows made from souls after their Chain of Fate is corroded. These are the ones you'll see around Karakura Town the most and should be child's play for experienced fighters such as yourselves, even if you're new to fighting them. Then there is the Menos class, which is when Hollows can no longer be sustained with just human souls. Menos will attack other Hollows in order to grow stronger." She didn't seem to notice that they were ignoring her drawings and listening only to her explanation. "There are three classes among the Menos. Gillians are the weakest and most common of the Menos and are also called Menos Grande due to their enormous size. Most Hollows stop evolving here as Gillians are made up of multiple Hollows. The personalities overlap and create a Hollow that has no control over its own actions. These can be dangerous because of that and are challenging to kill.

"If a Gillian does manage to gain a dominant personality over the other Hollow souls inside it will continue to consume Hollows as well as think for itself, even consuming fellow Gillians. It's these kind that advance to the stage of Adjuchas. Once there they must continue to consume other Hollows to advance. If any part of them is eaten by another Hollow they cannot evolve or if they stop eating other Hollows, thus regressing back into a Gillian. These can never go back to the rank of Adjuchas. However, Adjuchas have the capability to combat a Captain in battle."

Toshiro nodded gravely at this while the Gaians paled. So far the Adjuchas were only the middle class.

"And finally the Vasto Lordes, the most powerful of all the Hollows. They can overpower a Captain easily if they tried but are fortunately very rare in number. There are less Vasto Lordes in Hueco Mundo than fingers on your hand." Rukia was still drawing but they paid that no mind, sharing worried glances between them. What if Sephiroth found a Vasto Lorde to help him? "We don't know specifically how a Vasto Lorde is created or maintains its high status other than the need to continually consume other Hollows, but we do know they're dangerous."

"So…Ichigo's Inner Hollow is a Vasto Lorde?" Tifa surmised, though she still looked rather pale. "Does that mean he consumed Hollows?"

"Nah, he feeds off my Spiritual Pressure." Ichigo replied. "The stronger I get the stronger he gets. He became a Vasto Lorde when I was fighting a really strong Arrancar in Hueco Mundo."

"Okay, so what are Arrancars?" Cid scratched his head.

"That information can come later." Toshiro cut in before Rukia started drawing again. "With so many of you here having rather high Spiritual Pressure the Hollows are sure to be curious. We need to split you up into stations around town so they don't all flock to one place. It's best to stay in at least groups of two in case someone gets hurt and I, along with Kurosaki, Kuchiki and Urahara, will be moving between the groups to make sure everything is fine."

"Sounds good, off we go." Barrett said roughly, wanting to get moving. His zanpaktou was restless for a fight and so was he.

"Hey, wait!" A voice called out and heads turned. "I want in on this too."

"Karin?" Toshiro blinked in surprise at the black haired twin that had rushed over in Soul Reaper form to join them. "Did you run all the way from home?"

"No big deal." Karin shrugged. "But, uh…dad followed."

Rukia and Toshiro grimaced, the Gaians blinked in confusion, and Ichigo looked about as white as his Hollow mask.

"HE WHAT!?" The teen shouted at his sister.

"IIIICHIIIIIGGOOOOOOOO!" A voice shouted and the Gaians jumped in surprise, looking towards the figure of a tall man racing towards them, mostly concealed by the dust he stirred up from running. Ichigo cursed and the figure suddenly leaped, going feet first towards him.

"SHUT UP!" Ichigo screamed at him and dodged the kick only to hold his arm out, the man slamming his face right into it. "HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU NOT TO ATTACK ME ALL THE TIME!?"

"But son, I have to keep you in top shape!" His father replied, holding his bleeding nose. "There's nothing left to teach you!"

"Then stop attacking me, ya old goat!" Ichigo landed a hit on his dad's chin, sending the man flying into Kisuke's store, the man himself watching him fly by in amusement.

"My my, Isshin, seems you've pissed off your son. Again." Kisuke grinned deviously behind his fan and turned to see the reaction of the Gaians.

Needless to say, they were speechless. Even Vincent had his mouth open in surprise.

"Attack me again and I'll kick your ass all the way to Soul Society!" Ichigo shouted angrily at the black haired man that was his father.

"Masaki, when did our son become so cruel?" Isshin whined to seemingly air, before pulling a picture of a woman out of his pocket. "He's always pushing me around!"

"Because you come out of nowhere and attack him, dumbass!" Karin shouted this time and knocked her father down. "And stop complaining to pictures of mom all the time!" She snatched the picture.

"Masaki, I fear Karin is taking after her older delinquent brother." Isshin mumbled, face pressed to the floor by Karin's foot.

"Does this…happen often." Cloud asked Toshiro, pointing to the three Kurosakis fighting.

"Unfortunately it happens at least five times a day when Kurosaki is home." Toshiro grumbled. "And though you won't believe it, that man used to be the Squad Ten Captain before me when I was just a third seat."

"Him? A Captain?" Cid's eyebrows vanished into his hair.

"Impossible to believe, I know." Toshiro nodded. "He's gotten worse than before, I almost feel sorry for Kurosaki."

"Ichigo said his dad attacks him." Tifa said worriedly.

"They attack each other. His dad is known to wake him up rather violently and a fight usually ensues right after." He looked to see Karin and Ichigo both still growling at their father. "Let's leave them to it and get a move on. They'll come when they're done, though probably with a few bruises."

"Is it really okay to leave them?" Shelke said cautiously.

"Trust me; you don't want to get in the way of a fight between Kurosakis. That's almost worse than finding yourself in the middle of a fight between Vasto Lordes."

"Seriously!?" Yuffie gaped.

"I said almost. No one dies but there's a lot of destruction."

The Gains shared glances amongst themselves.

* * *

**There's the encounter with Isshin I promised! ^^ Hope it was funny! And Rukia's drawing lessons on Hollows. Should get a few laughs XD Enjoy!**


	23. 22) Hollow Hunting

Rangiku looked up from her work for a brief moment and glanced at Kadaj. The Remnant was fast asleep on the couch, zanpaktou leaning against the side within easy reach should he need it. Even in a place of safety he was cautious.

"Poor guy." Rangiku sighed, giving him a sympathetic glance. "Hm, maybe I can get him to go out with me, Izuru and Shuhei for a drink. Shouldn't be too much of a problem."

The Lieutenant glanced at her stack which was noticeably smaller than before. She was proud of how much work she'd done, even if it had taken her hours to do it.

"Just a few more." She decided. "That'll keep the Captain happy even if I get drunk. Why didn't I ever think of this before? Hm…then again, it is boring."

She shook her head and steeled herself to do another set before she'd wake up the silverette on the couch and go find her drinking buddies.

For a brief moment, Kadaj's eyes opened, his normal emerald glowing a sickly green before he blinked and the evil in their depths vanished. He sat up, startled.

"Something wrong?" Rangiku asked, noticing his confused expression.

"Er…no, it's nothing." He shrugged it off and lay back down. He could have sworn he heard Sephiroth's voice.

In the World of the Living, Toshiro stood in his Gigai with Vincent and Yuffie in the Southwest part of Karakura Town. They hadn't seen any of the Kurosakis but from Toshiro's earlier remarks about their fights they'd probably be busy for a while.

"Where do you think Sephiroth is?" Yuffie asked aloud as a general question, noticing Toshiro seemed to be busy typing something into his Soul Pager.

"He's good at hiding in the shadows." Vincent replied. "He could be anywhere."

"And Toshiro can't track his Spiritual Pressure." Yuffie huffed.

"That's Captain Hitsugaya." Toshiro snapped, not looking up from the screen.

"R-right."

Finished with whatever he was doing, Toshiro pocketed his Soul Pager and turned his gaze to the sky. There had been Hollows appearing in the town and he'd expected them to come for the power Vincent had, but they seemed more interested in where Ichigo and Cloud were. He could understand that, what with the both of them having a high amount of Spirit Energy, but to ignore Vincent…were they perhaps afraid of him? Due to having three demons turned into Hollows, perhaps they assumed he was one of their own even with his Soul Reaper powers.

Perhaps they thought he was an Arrancar.

That was no good, Vincent would never learn how to get along with and use Chaos's power if he didn't have any practice, and god knows Yuffie needed practice. He let his Spiritual Pressure rise slightly, hoping his power would attract some attention as he covered over Vincent's dark energy. The Gaians turned to him with quirked eyebrows.

Before they could ask anything, however, three Hollows bounded in from the South towards him and they both tensed.

"Those are relatively weak Hollows." Toshiro said as Yuffie and Vincent swallowed a Soul Candy and separated from their bodies, the souls inside backing up behind Hitsugaya. "I don't think you'll even need Shikai for them."

"Yeah, but I wanna practice." Yuffie pouted and held her katana blade before her, the hilt wrapped in light green with a yellow ribbon at the base of the four-pointed silver star guard. "Fly, Silivrenmeril!"

Once she had the beautiful weapon in her grasp she spun it in her hand before tossing it, directing it with her Spirit Energy as her zanpaktou had taught her to do during meditation. It cut through two of the Hollows before flying its way back to her. One of the Hollows vanished into blue spirit particles while the other bled heavily from the stump that used to be its arm. The third one, still healthy, charged at the ninja.

Vincent stepped in front and parried the claw strike with a swift cut through the Hollow's mask. For a trained gunman he was steady with a blade.

The one with the missing arm was quickly realizing it was overpowered, but the pull of that delicious icy soul standing calmly away from the fight was too good to pass up and it charged towards the white haired child. The black haired man was quick to step in its way and finished it off with one stroke.

'_**Hmph, great job making me feel useless.**_' Chaos grumbled.

'_I don't need to be shooting everything, not with how powerful your attacks are._'

The demon zanpaktou waved him off and went silent.

"The two of you have improved quite a bit." Toshiro remarked. "At this rate you'll master your zanpaktou's Shikai in only a week or two."

"Sweet!" Yuffie cheered, sealing her zanpaktou and sheathing it.

While Yuffie hummed happily to herself and Vincent attempted to search for any nearby Hollows with his Spiritual Pressure, Toshiro remained silent and wondered how the others were doing. Rangiku should be reporting in soon with how Kadaj was doing. Considering that he was a battle loving man stuck in an office with Rangiku, he was bound to go stir crazy. Toshiro wanted to avoid his office being blown up again.

A sudden Spiritual Pressure caught his attention and he stood quickly, the Gaians looking his way. In a matter of seconds he recognized it.

"Looks like the Visoreds are here." He sighed, just as several figures Flash stepped into their group.

"Oh look, the midget Captain is here." Smirked a girl with blonde hair in wild ponytails and brown eyes, a red jacket on over a white tank top and red sweatpants.

"Hello, Sarugaki." Toshiro replied with an icy tone, the temperature dropping. It was obvious right then they didn't get along.

"Oi, I told you to call me Hiyori, dammit!" The girl growled at him, moving to get close to his face. Toshiro glared back at her and said nothing. "Well, answer me!"

"Leave me alone, Sarugaki." He said, emphasizing her name.

She fumed until a large man picked her up by the collar and pulled her away from the Ice Captain, her thrashing the entire time.

"Hachi, lemme go!" She growled at the man in a green suit with pink hair and mustache, a black X marked into his hair.

"You should really get along better with the Soul Reapers." Hachi said in a soft tone.

"Like Hell I will!" She continued ranting while Vincent and Yuffie looked at her strangely.

A young woman stepped over to them. She had braided black hair and turquoise eyes and was wearing a sailor outfit with a short teal skirt and collar.

"Lisa Yadomaru." She introduced herself to Vincent. "Since those two are busy I'll explain why we're here. We heard you have an Inner Hollow."

"Three, actually." Vincent corrected.

Hiyori froze and looked at him and Hachi let her go, dropping her to the ground. Lisa's bored expression quickly became surprised.

"Wait a minute; Kisuke didn't say a damn thing about three Inner Hollows." Hiyori growled at the tall gunman. She frowned at his height difference over her but said nothing about it.

"Well now you know." Toshiro replied, causing the blonde to turn and stick her tongue out at him. He ignored her.

"I guess you know these Hollow well then?" Hachi asked kindly.

"In my world they were demons." Vincent nodded. "I was able to control them and use their forms."

"Well using their Hollow abilities is a completely different game." Hiyori snapped, arms crossed. "And since you have three it's triple the work. So as soon as you're ready we're getting started. Got it?"

Vincent nodded, deciding it was better not to argue against such an obvious attitude problem. He had quite a few things he wanted to say but experience taught him it was a bad idea to say such things. Better to let her think she won and avoid pain.

'_**Hmph, pansy.**_' Chaos snickered.

"Just have Kisuke contact us when you're ready." Lisa said to the gunman and Flash Stepped away.

"Pleasure to meet you." Hachi gave a quick bow and followed after the black haired woman.

Giving Vincent a once over, Hiyori turned up her nose and finally left along with them. Toshiro let out a sigh of relief once the blonde was gone.

"Ever since the Winter War she's been a pain in the ass." He grumbled under his breath.

"So she's one of those Visored people?" Yuffie questioned. "The Soul Reapers with Inner Hollows like Ichigo?"

"Yes, those three are a few of them. The Squad Five Captain, Squad Three Captain, and Squad Nine Captain are also Visoreds and so is the second Lieutenant of Squad Nine." Toshiro explained. "She wanted her old position back but we couldn't just get rid of the current Lieutenant. There's one other Visored but he didn't seem to be here today."

"How did they all get Inner Hollows?"

"Aizen was experimenting with Hollowfication and used them as his subjects. Ichigo somehow got it in a different way…Kisuke seems to have an idea but won't say a thing."

"Aizen seems to cause all the problems." Yuffie noted aloud.

"Everything was well planned up until the point Ichigo gained more power than he'd expected him to and was locked up for his slight error. We're all glad he failed, otherwise this entire town would be gone."

"Something about a King's Key." Vincent said.

"Yes. I'm sure anyone involved in the Winter War can explain it to you, but for now you have company."

Though they hadn't noticed it with the distraction of the Visoreds, Toshiro had let his Spiritual Pressure leak out a little more than usual and it had drawn in a crowd of Hollows.

"Hm, there's quite a few of them." Toshiro said in a bored tone.

"We got it!" Yuffie leaped towards the closest one.

They both went into Shikai, as there were indeed quite a few Hollows, and worked hard to strengthen their blows and learn how to use the Shikai of their zanpaktous effectively. Vincent seemed to be having a little trouble with Chaos, as the blows steadily weakened.

"A zanpaktou should not endanger their master." Toshiro called out to him, knowing Chaos was listening as well. "Weapon or not, Chaos needs to learn that if he does not offer you his power you will die and so will he. But everything has two sides, which means you need to take time to learn how his power works as a zanpaktou and understand him. It's a mutual agreement between zanpaktou and master."

"We agree to disagree." Vincent grumbled back, taking three shots at a Hollow before finally killing it.

"Change that or you're dead."

Sighing as he dodged an attack from a Hollow, Vincent looked at the weapon in his hand.

'_You heard him; we have to find a way to get along._' He said to the irritable demon.

'_**Oh, yes, because I totally want to get along with someone who has been and still is limiting my power with that thing in your chest.**_'

'_The Protomateria? That's why you're so grumpy?_'

'_**One of many reasons, Valentine.**_'

'_I can't get rid of that, you'd try to take control again…and I don't know how._' Vincent took down another Hollow before backing away to let Yuffie have a go, her relationship with her zanpaktou clearly better than his considering the power behind her shuriken.

'_**The Soul Reapers are more than capable. As for your first excuse…well, that's what we need to work on, isn't it? Trust? Get rid of that stupid materia and I'll consider helping you…that thing drives me nuts.**_'

'_How?_'

'_**If only you knew. I feel like I'm tied up in invisible chains and having my head run through a blender, I can't think straight half the time. And that's putting it mildly.**_'

'_I get it; I'll see what I can do._'

An agreement made, Chaos's power seemed to come a little easier to his call and made killing the rest of the Hollows much easier.

"Sweet!" Yuffie danced happily, resealing her zanpaktou and sheathing it before she cut someone…or herself.

While she celebrated, Toshiro approached the gunman with a slightly impressed look on his face.

"I suppose Chaos made some kind of agreement?" He asked, smirking slightly. Vincent heard Chaos growl at the boy.

'_**He annoys me too, stop hanging around him.**_' The demon demanded.

'_Can't, he has too much in common with me, therefore he's teaching me and by extension you._' Vincent snapped back before focusing on the Ice Captain. "Something of the sort."

'_**The only thing he has in common with you is his Weapon partner.**_' Chaos growled, not about to be ignored.

"What did he say?" Toshiro asked, unaware of the man's inner debate.

'_That's what I meant, Chaos. Hyorinmaru is probably willing to teach you how to be a zanpaktou if you didn't hate him so much._' Vincent replied quickly to Chaos. "He wants the Protomateria removed."

"Doesn't that keep him in check, prevent him from controlling you?" Toshiro looked suspicious.

"Yes, but…dammit Chaos, shut up." Vincent closed his eyes and mentally silenced his demon as he complained about being taught by the Ice Leviathan. "It is VERY hard to have two conversations at once."

"You'll get the hang of it." Toshiro smirked again. "I'm about to switch with Kuchiki and head over to Rui and Red, tell me about Chaos's demands for the Protomateria later when everyone is called in."

Vincent simply nodded and watched the white haired Captain walk away, unable to Flash Step in a Gigai. With him gone the Hollows seemed to give them a wide berth, to which Chaos grumbled again, and he and Yuffie returned to their own Gigais. The Artificial Souls didn't complain, though Yuffie's was rather obnoxious…much like her.

Rukia arrived later to help them out, as well as draw in the Hollows, and the day continued on.

* * *

**Just imagine trying to hold two conversations at once...I can't. I can hardly hold one XD And just wait until his demons start talking to him again. That will be one Hell of a migraine. Poor Vince.**

**Enjoy!**


	24. 23) No Materia

At the end of the day, Toshiro found himself with Cloud and Tifa in the Northeast part of Karakura Town. It was a rather quiet affair with the occasional Hollow passing by.

"They seem attracted to your Spiritual Pressure, Strife." Toshiro remarked. "It seems you'll need to be taught how to hide it so you don't constantly attract them."

"How long will that take?" Cloud stabbed his sword into the ground, leaving it in Shikai due to how often the Hollows were coming.

"That depends." Toshiro shrugged. "I'm sure you could master it in a day or so. All of you seem to learn almost as fast as Kurosaki, if not as fast as he did."

His Soul Pager beeped and the Ice Captain quickly flipped it open to check it.

"Hm…" The Gaians heard him and glanced curiously at each other. They also saw him narrow his eyes at the phone.

"What is it?" Cloud dared ask.

"Matsumoto's report. I told her to keep me updated on Kadaj's condition. Apparently he spaces out every now and then and he confessed he kept hearing Sephiroth's voice…I would think with the two of them being in separate realms the Nightmare couldn't influence him, but perhaps I was wrong." He began to type a quick reply. "I'll have her keep a closer eye on him for now. If anything comes up I'm giving her permission to incapacitate him."

"You don't think Sephiroth is still trying to get his powers, do you?" Tifa looked concerned, both for the Remnant and the fate of the realms.

"I would think he'd have his hands full with Kadaj's Inner Hollow." Toshiro replied, sending the message through and pocketing his phone. "Perhaps he wants the ECB so he can use that Hollow's powers without risk of destroying his soul."

He stood from his perch.

"Come on, everyone's heading back to Urahara's place. There's a compound lining the training area that prevents Spiritual Pressure from leaking out so Hollows won't follow us there."

Both Gaians nodded and followed the white haired child back towards the shop. It had been a long day of fighting Hollows and learning how to use their zanpaktous. Rukia had been very helpful to them while Ichigo looked put out about not fighting unless absolutely necessary, for which his sister was there to keep him seated. She was allowed to help since she also needed to train, but Ichigo had firm orders not to interfere. As for Kisuke, the eccentric shop keeper just continued to give them riddles and hidden threats, to which they found annoying. They were glad when Toshiro arrived to switch.

Once everyone was down in the training area, Kisuke told them to begin talking to their zanpaktous.

"The best way to learn how to use your zanpaktou's powers is from the zanpaktou themselves." Kisuke grinned behind his fan as the Gaians listened to him. While he spoke, Toshiro motioned for Vincent to step away with him and the two of them separated from the crowd. "So, you need to all speak with your zanpaktous and get to know them like you would a friend, and then maybe they'll teach you something."

With some sighs or mutters, the Gaians followed Karin's example of setting their blade on their lap to meditate as she joined them, wanting to find her zanpaktou's name finally. Meanwhile, Toshiro turned to Vincent, the two of them several yards from the group in order to have privacy though still in sight of one another.

"So why does Chaos want the Protomateria removed?" Toshiro began immediately.

"It bothers him, chains him down." Vincent replied. "It does that so he can't focus, preventing him from taking control. It also makes him irritable."

"Understandable. But is there any promise he won't attempt to control you as he did before when it was removed?"

'_**That depends, Ice Captain.**_' Chaos replied, using the Weapon link between himself and Hyorinmaru to speak.

"Depends on what?"

'_**I just want it gone because it's annoying. I attempted to take control before because Valentine was unstable, it would have happened anyway. Plus, I wanted a go at Hyorinmaru.**_'

At this the ice dragon snorted, un-amused, and Chaos growled.

'_**What with me being a zanpaktou now, though, it's unlikely he'll be as unstable.**_'

"And your disagreement with Hyorinmaru?" Vincent crossed his arms.

'_**I'd be willing to help you adjust to being a zanpaktou, having been one for almost a century now.**_' Hyorinmaru spoke up.

"Our new ability to travel to the Inner Worlds of others could be useful in this way." Toshiro added on. "Hyorinmaru could directly train you how to use your power the way a zanpaktou would, and by extension teach Vincent. It's not normally how we would train a new Soul Reaper but under these rather unique circumstances it should do."

'_**Well, considering most of Vincent's Inner World is the Nibelheim mansion you might have trouble fitting, dragon.**_' Chaos aimed at Hyorinmaru.

'_**I do have my human form, Chaos.**_' The ice dragon sighed in reply. '_**And I recall the mansion having a large clearing behind it suited for fighting.**_'

They got no reply and Vincent heaved a sigh.

"I'm sure we'll manage something. Is it possible to remove the Protomateria?"

"The way it was removed last time, if I remember right, was having a Tsviet rip it from your chest." Toshiro replied.

"I'd like to avoid that route, if possible."

Hitsugaya smirked as the gunman scowled at the memory.

"I could do the same but in a far less painful way. The question is if you're truly willing to remove it."

"If that's what it takes to master Chaos's power, or in this world Gurthatsa's power, then I'm willing." Vincent nodded to the Captain. Toshiro admired his daring and they both sensed Chaos's respect go up a little.

"Very well then, I'll be right back." Toshiro walked away and back towards Kisuke.

The two Soul Reapers conversed for a moment, no doubt over what was just discussed, before the shop keeper pulled a strange glove out of his coat and handed it to the Ice Captain. The Gaians not meditating watched Toshiro curiously as he held onto the red glove and walked casually back over to Vincent. They had no idea what was going on and wanted to see what was happening. Kisuke prevented that by happily threatening to force them into their Inner World. They quickly went back to meditating, unsure if he would follow through on that or not.

Once he had returned, Toshiro slipped the red glove onto his right hand; a white skull on the back surrounded by blue flames could be seen.

"Using this I can pull the Protomateria out without damaging your soul, and I checked that idea with Urahara just to make sure." Toshiro explained, lifting the now gloved hand. "It might feel a little strange, though, so be patient with me."

'_**Oh I'll make sure you find it as quickly as possible.**_' Chaos cut in and Vincent could feel the demon shift, no doubt towards the source of his annoyance.

Toshiro nodded and looked to the gunman to make sure he had permission to give it a go. When Vincent nodded his consent, Toshiro thrust the gloved hand into the man's chest. It went right through, as they'd hoped, and caused only a slight discomfort. The minute Toshiro had his hands around the large Protomateria he pulled back, leaving Vincent hole free this time around, and the large materia rested firmly in his hand. The light twirling inside the clear sphere began to dim as the Spirit Energy in the air began to snuff it out, no longer protected by Vincent's power.

"Success." Hitsugaya said. "I can see why Chaos dislikes it…Hyorinmaru's feeling rather muffled by its presence as well."

"By the looks of it, though, it won't be working long." Vincent said, pointing out the fading power.

"It's lasted long for a materia, though. I suppose that proves its power. It'll work again once it's back on Gaia, the one I sent to Kurotsuchi last year did. It needs the presence of the Lifestream to fuel it, so here it just shuts down for a while."

"Makes sense." Vincent shrugged.

A black cat, Yoruichi if Vincent remembered right, jumped onto Toshiro's shoulder and looked at the sphere curiously. Toshiro had moved it to his other hand to take the glove off before holding it in his right once more, the glove having been pocketed.

"So that's the Protomateria." She mused aloud, Vincent still unaware of her true gender. "Strange power."

"It was made specifically to keep Chaos in control." Hitsugaya explained to her, seemingly undisturbed by her sudden appearance.

"And you removed it?"

"It was one of Chaos's terms in order for Vincent to use his power more effectively. While a zanpaktou he has no power to control Vincent with, not until he's a full-fledged zanpaktou anyway."

"Alright then, I'll take that off your hands and store it with the other Gaians' things." Yoruichi reached her head down and rolled the sphere onto her back easily, managing to balance quite efficiently between her shoulder blades.

"Are you sure you can carry it?" Vincent watched her leap down to the ground, the materia wobbling a bit before she steadied it.

"Oh, I'm fine." The cat grinned. "A little awkward, but I can manage. If not I'll force Kisuke to carry it. What with you two being Weapon hosts I'm assuming this thing is bothersome to hold onto, even if it is losing power."

"A bit." Toshiro shrugged. "Don't worry, Valentine, Shihon is more than capable of carrying it. Now that Chaos no longer needs to worry about the Protomateria you should join the others."

'_**How about we try that idea of yours where Hyorinmaru comes in here?**_' Chaos suggested, barely hiding his interest in the idea.

"Are you sure?" Toshiro turned back, having been about to walk away. "I only tried it once for a brief amount of time with Kadaj and his zanpaktou, and that was to help them. There's no telling what happens if we fight someone in their Inner World."

'_**You two are both Weapon hosts and we're both Weapons. It shouldn't be any different than if you summoned us and fought in real life. We'll all be exhausted with no permanent damage.**_'

'_**He has a point.**_' Hyorinmaru spoke up. _**'I wouldn't suggest this kind of training for anyone else, but with the two of us being Weapons it shouldn't be a problem. And I won't have my power cut back in his Inner World the way I did with Kadaj.**_'

'_How do you know that?_' Toshiro replied mentally by instinct, though it was obvious Vincent could hear it too.

'_**It's basically a duel. My power will be somewhat restricted to match his but the minute he rises in power, I will as well to challenge him.**_'

'_**It's a Weapon thing.**_' Chaos sighed, starting to sound bored with the conversation.

Toshiro shared a glance with Vincent. They were both a little nervous about the idea, but their zanpaktous seemed confident and it was worth a shot.

"Shihon." Toshiro called out to the black cat, which hadn't gotten very far. She looked back. "Let Urahara know I'm trying a different way of training Vincent than the normal way, we'll be further back in case our Spiritual Pressure flares."

"Oh?" Yoruichi looked interested.

"Our Weapon partners are going to battle inside my inner World." Vincent explained. "They both think it's safe, so we're going to try it."

If she had eyebrows as a cat, Yoruichi would have raised one curiously.

"If they're so sure, then. Alright, I'll let Kisuke know. Don't go giving each other brain damage." She sauntered off again.

"Funny, Shihon." Toshiro sighed. "Might as well give it a try."

* * *

**Sorry for the long wait. I'm kinda stuck on this one. Don't worry, i'm working on it. I should really learn not to write several stories at once. I have ideas for this but it's getting to that point that's hard, and usually I make something up along the way that changes that idea. It will be done, though, promise. I'm trying my best! Enjoy!**


	25. 24) WEAPON Training

The two Weapon hosts moved a little further away before Toshiro picked a spot and sat down, stabbing his zanpaktou into the ground in front of him and taking a meditative pose. Vincent sat across from the boy and did the same, though he placed his zanpaktou in his lap.

'_**Chaos, we'll do an in between state.'**_ Hyorinmaru called out as Toshiro reached out towards Vincent with his mind.

'_**Yeah, sure.**_'

Both masters were pulled into their Inner Worlds while also being pulled towards one another. Vincent felt very cold suddenly, while Toshiro noticed it wasn't as cold as he usually was. Opening his eyes, the familiar icy landscape was dotted with ruined pieces of Nibelheim. The two Inner Worlds were temporarily merged. His ice dragon sat behind him, icy wings spread, while Chaos hovered above Vincent a few yards away. There were also shadows further back that Toshiro assumed were the gunman's Inner Hollows.

"You're looking well, Chaos." Toshiro said offhandedly.

"**Oh you think you're so charming.**" The demon zanpaktou scowled. He looked up at Hyorinmaru as the ice dragon growled in warning. Right, those two were a closer bonded pair than he and Vincent.

"So are you and Hyorinmaru sparring?" Vincent turned to look up at the hovering spirit.

"**Something like that.**"

"**I'll be using only my zanpaktou powers, not anything I earned by becoming a Weapon.**" Hyorinmaru explained. "**My power will be limited to how much you have, therefore I will not use any Bankai techniques.**"

"Most of your attacks are part of your Bankai, I thought." Vincent looked at Toshiro.

"They are, for the most part." He replied. "I'm capable of using them in Shikai I just don't have as much control. But don't worry, Chaos will have his hands full with just the Shikai if his performance in our battle before proves anything."

"**We'll see about that.**" Chaos smirked, bringing the Shikai form of himself to hand. "**You going to revert to your humanoid form or do I have to fight you as a dragon?**"

The ice dragon answered with a low rumble and spreading his wings, icy coils tensed to spring. Despite the change that made him more fish-like, he lost none of his regal appearance. If anything, the shimmering scales and sleek fins added to his kingly stance.

Using Flash Step, Toshiro moved off to the side and away from the Weapons. Vincent joined him and they watched the spirits stare one another down. The sky turned dark as Hyorinmaru's power gave him the advantage and created storm clouds, the temperature dropping further.

"**This is my most basic, but also my strongest technique.**" Hyorinmaru explained as the demon glanced briefly at the storm clouds, the wind beginning to pick up. "**You've already experienced it as it was used by my master.**"

"**Subjugation of the Heavens…**" Chaos growled out the name. "**I countered it once, I can do it again.**"

"**Don't assume as such. My master is strong but he's still developing his power and his control over me. As his zanpaktou, my control of this attack is far deadlier than his. It's to be expected that a Soul Reaper's zanpaktou is stronger than its master, considering they know themselves better. It's why communication is such a vital key in learning how to control one's zanpaktou.**"

"**Enough with the lecture already!**" Chaos aimed the large gun and the dragon bared his teeth. "**I came here to fight!**"

"**With what? You only know one attack that I'm aware of.**"

"**Time to cut this lizard down to size.**" Chaos shot forward with a strong flap of his wings before Hyorinmaru could say more.

Hyorinmaru roared and lifted off into the skies. Wind picked up around him and attempted to catch in the demon's wings, slowing him down. Not that Chaos stopped. The demon lifted his weapon and let out a powerful blast, what Vincent's attacks would be like if the two could just get along. Hyorinmaru lifted his tail and sent a wave of ice-water up to block the shot before casting it aside and lunging forward with gaping jaws. Scowling, Chaos dove downward to avoid the ivory teeth before shooting at the dragon's belly.

Bursting into ice, the dragon seemed vanquished. Only for him to rise from the frozen ground once more and spread his wings to fly again.

"_Subjugation of the Heavens._" Hyorinmaru called out the familiar name and the storm worsened, a thick blizzard surrounding the two fighters. Ice shot up from the ground in a freezing wave and threatened to swallow up the demon zanpaktou.

Letting out a feral growl, Chaos shot around him six times, the shots staying put by his command and glowing white hot as fire condensed in the dark spheres. Pointing down at the rising wave of ice, Chaos charged one final shot, the ball of Spirit Energy burning with darkness and fire. Once the energy was high enough he let off the shot and it slammed into the ice-water with impressive force, the six spheres he'd first created arcing outwards before slamming into the ice from all directions, exploding on contact into an inferno.

"**So you can learn.**" Hyorinmaru rumbled as the heat calmed the blizzard around them.

"**I just modified one of my Weapon attacks.**" The demon snapped, leaning his gun on his shoulder. "**Just like you changed your trademark Tidal Wave attack into Subjugation of the Heavens.**"

"Tidal Wave?" Toshiro questioned Vincent.

"Leviathan's main attack." The gunman replied.

"Ah…"

"**You still don't have a name for it, do you?**"

"**Maybe I would just prefer not to say it.**" Chaos motioned with his head towards Vincent. Hyorinmaru nodded in understanding before letting his power rise and bring back the blizzard. He still had the advantage despite the demon's new attack.

"I have a feeling Chaos isn't going to stop this fight until he wins." Vincent sighed, sitting down.

"Then he better be prepared to fight for several weeks." Toshiro shook his head. "Hyorinmaru has far more experience as a zanpaktou then he does, that last attack had too many weaknesses."

"Hyorinmaru's did?"

"Yes. It looked impressive but the ice wave was hollow and the blizzard mostly wind." Now Toshiro sat down. "Also, you should probably start calling Chaos by his zanpaktou name. It will help him adjust faster, even if he doesn't think so."

"Makes sense, I suppose."

They both turned back to Chaos, or Gurthatsa, and Hyorinmaru's fight. Ice water and dark fire continued to clash as the Weapons fought tooth and bullet. Every time the demon seemed to learn something new with his zanpaktou power, Hyorinmaru would up the ante and come at him even harder. No matter how angry he got or how much power he released, Gurthatsa just couldn't beat Hyorinmaru's immense Spiritual Pressure and weather advantage.

Toshiro sensed something happening outside and decided enough was enough for one night. Catching on, Hyorinmaru stopped his attack and burst into ice before reappearing behind his master, startling Vincent as he sat next to the boy.

"It's been several hours." Toshiro reported. "The others might be worried, let's leave this in between realm and return to reality."

Chaos snorted but did not argue, vanishing into darkness along with Vincent. The Nibelheim rubble faded and Toshiro was alone with his dragon in an icy field once more.

"How fast is he progressing?" He turned to the Weapon.

"**As one of his power would, very quickly. He already recognizes that he must teach Valentine how to use his powers on his own.**"

"The only concern now is if they can get along well enough to do so."

"**Yes. With some support, there is a chance of getting them to work together.**"

"Tomorrow we'll let them talk alone this time." Toshiro closed his eyes to return to the real world, hearing voices around him. They sounded surprised and he grimaced; something must have happened during their mental fight.

Upon opening his eyes he realized what that was. He'd frozen over a good amount of the ground around him, though there were burnt patches and wisps of darkness where Vincent had been sitting.

"It seems the fight extended past the Inner World." Yoruichi snickered as she leaped across the ice to land on Toshiro's shoulder. "The two of you need to keep an eye on that."

"I was unsure whether or not this would happen, that's why I moved away from the others." The Ice Captain pushed her back off onto the ice while lowering his Spiritual Pressure, allowing the ice to melt.

"Glad you did." Cid said gruffly, looking around as the ice broke and faded away. "Would not want to be under that right now."

A few of the Gaians looked at Toshiro warily once more, wondering what he had been doing with Vincent to cause such a reaction. The gunman quickly explained while Toshiro was occupied with Karin, the teen asking the tiny Captain to help train her, to Kisuke's surprise; he'd been training her these past few weeks even before the Gaians were in need of help, along with Ichigo's assistance.

"I can see my zanpaktou spirit now and she's a fire-wind type." Karin explained. "If I went up against an ice-water I'd have a challenge."

"Without your zanpaktou's name there's no way you can fight on par with a Captain." Toshiro argued.

"I'm this close to hearing it." Karin held up her hand with a tiny space between her fingers to show what she meant. Toshiro raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Oh come on, please!?"

"I'd suggest training with Lieutenant Kuchiki first. She also has an ice type zanpaktou and hers isn't a Weapon from another world."

"Your zanpaktou isn't special just because it's from another world." Karin crossed her arms with a pout. "And I thought he couldn't use his Weapon power here."

"The point is, I'm a Captain, and you don't even have Shikai yet." Toshiro stood and began to walk away. "If you can fight on par with Lieutenant Kuchiki then I'll spar with you."

"Vincent only just got his Shikai and you're training him."

"Actually Hyorinmaru is training Chaos." Toshiro corrected, pausing his walking for the moment. "He's teaching his fellow Weapon how to be a zanpaktou. I'm really taking no part in it. Plus, as the Captain in charge of Gaia, it's my duty to watch over all of them and train them appropriately."

"Okay, fine." Karin shrugged. "But I'm holding you to your word. I fight at Lieutenant level and you train me. Promise?"

Toshiro turned to look back at her, noticing the determination in her gaze. She was not about to back down. Why did she want him to train her anyway? He could see the challenge of ice-water against fire and why she would do it, but training? She should ask someone with a fire-type zanpaktou for that. Momo would be more help to her than he could on mastering fire. But, she had that stubborn look in her eye, and he really didn't feel like arguing with a stubborn Kurosaki. He admired her determination.

"I promise to train you once you have Lieutenant level power, Karin Kurosaki." He smirked at her and finally walked away.

"Good." Karin smirked back, satisfied.

The female Gaians giggled, seeing something in that exchange that the boys did not. Rukia was with them as well, a knowing look in her eyes. Things were going to get very heated very fast. She had to tell Rangiku.

"Alright, Gaian Reapers, time for some rest!" Kisuke waved his fan at them.

They looked at him, confused.

"What did you call us?" Shelke questioned.

"Well, you're not Soul Reapers in the true sense." The man explained. "So I thought, since you're from Gaia, we call you Gaian Reapers, eh? Sound good?"

"It does have a nice ring to it." Yuffie hummed.

"Gaian Reapers it is." Cloud shrugged.

And so the name stuck.

* * *

**So now the title makes more sense, hehe. Oh, and Chaos's new attack was taken from one of the moves he has in Dissidia, I looked it up on the wikia. All his moves seem to be fire or earth in Dissidia but since with Vincent he's a demon of darkness I figured fire would go better, so Chaos is a fire-darkness type zanpaktou. Sorry it's so late, i'm stuck T^T I'm trying to get my muse back, though! Promise! So sorry!**


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